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PROBLEMS  OF  WAR  AND  OF  RECONSTRUCTION 

EDITED  BY 
FRANCIS  G.  WICKWARE 


THE  REDEMPTION 
OF  THE  DISABLED 


7^K>" 


* 


A   STUDY    OF    PROGRAMMES    OF    REHABILITATION 
FOR   THE   DISABLED   OF   WAR   AND   OF    INDUSTRY 

BY 

GARRARD  HARRIS 

RESEARCH  DIVISION,  FEDERAL  BOARD  FOR  VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION 

WITH  AN  INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER  BY 

FRANK  BILLINGS 

COLONEL,     MEDICAL     CORPS,     UNITED     STATES     ARMY;     CHIEF    OF     THE 

DIVISION   OF   PHYSICAL  RECONSTRUCTION,  OFFICE   OF  THE 

SURGEON-GENERAL 

AND  A  FOREWORD  BY 

CHARLES  A.  PROSSER 

DIRECTOR  OF  THE   FEDERAL  BOARD  FOR   VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION 


ILLUSTRATED 

D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  LONDON 

1919 

35-111- 


COPYEIGHT,  1919,  BY 

D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY 


PBINTED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OP  AMERICA 


vx 


This  Nation  has  no  more  solemn  obligation  than  healing 
the  hurts  of  our  wounded  and  restoring  our  disabled  men 
to  civil  life  and  opportunity.  The  Government  recognizes 
this,  and  the  fulfillment  of  the  obligation  is  going  forward 
fully  and  generously.  The  medical  divisions  of  the  War 
and  Navy  Departments  are  rendering  all  aid  that  skill  and 
science  make  possible;  the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational 
Education  is  commanded  by  law  to  develop  and  adapt  the 
remaining  capabilities  of  each  man  so  that  he  may  again 
take  his  place  in  the  ranks  of  our  great  civilian  army.  The 
cooperation  and  interest  of  our  citizens  is  essential  to  this 
programme  of  duty,  justice  and  humanity.  It  is  not  a 
charity.  It  is  merely  the  payment  of  a  draft  of  honor 
which  the  United  States  of  America  accepted  when  it 
selected  these  men,  and  took  them  in  their  health  and 
strength  to  fight  the  battles  of  the  Nation.  They  have  fought 
the  good  fight ;  they  have  kept  the  faith,  and  they  have  won. 
Now  we  keep  faith  with  them,  and  every  citizen  is  endorser 
on  the  general  obligation. 

WOODROW  WILSON. 


PREFACE 

Out  of  the  Great  War  have  grown  some  permanent 
benefits  to  humanity,  and  among  these  perhaps  the 
greatest  is  the  prospect  of  emancipation  for  the 
physically  disabled  individual  from  thralldom  of 
unhappy  circumstance. 

Prodigal  as  was  the  expenditure  of  men',"  even 
through  the  very  squandering  of  man  power  itself, 
the  fighting  nations  came  to  realize  the  value  of  the 
individual  and  the  strength  each  individual,  though 
disqualified  for  direct  military  service,  could  con- 
tribute to  the  common  cause  and  aim.  Gradually 
there  dawned  a  different  and  more  enlightened  con- 
ception, based  not  solely  upon  the  use  that  could  be 
made  of  remaining  assets  of  strength  or  skill  left  to 
the  injured  man,  but  upon  justice  to  the  man  himself 
and  to  his  dependents.  This  new  and  revolutionizing 
conception  the  United  States  has  been  first  among  the 
nations  to  apply  in  all  its  broadest  significance.  The 
United  States  has  initiated  a  comprehensive  pro- 
gramme for  the  benefit  of  and  in  justice  to  all  its  dis- 
abled citizens,  whether  injured  upon  the  firing  line  in 
battle  or  in  civil  employment  contributing  to  the 
general  community  welfare. 

Europe  had  been  in  the  maelstrom  of  war  many 
months  before  the  United  States  was  drawn  into  the 
vortex.  The  problem  of  the  disabled  man  was  in 
fair  way  of  being  solved  by  France  and  Belgium  and 
Great  Britain.  At  least  they  had  entered  upon  the 
right  road  —  a  new  and  unexplored  road,  and  were 
following  it  to  their  own  material  and  social  advan- 
tage. Canada  took  up  the  problem  of  rehabilitation 

vii 


PREFACE 

of  her  disabled  men,  and  made  a  distinct  advance 
upon  the  European  systems,  adapting  the  principles 
to  suit  her  own  social  conditions,  which  in  no  essential 
differ  from  our  own.  Canada  was  obtaining  satis- 
factory results  when  the  United  States  came  to  deal 
with  the  task  of  providing  for  our  own  disabled 
soldiers  and  sailors.  Canada  most  generously  and 
cordially,  without  reserve,  placed  all  her  knowledge 
and  experience  at  our  disposal.  She  did  more  —  she 
loaned  this  Government  Mr.  T.  B.  Kidner,  who  had 
so  prominent  a  part  in  bringing  about  those  intensely 
practical  results  attained  in  Canada,  and  in  the  forma- 
tive days  before  we  were  actually  started  upon  the 
task  his  advice  and  experience  were  invaluable. 

The  United  States  in  undertaking  to  provide  for  its 
disabled  men  unhesitatingly  scrapped  all  old  tra- 
ditions, theories,  and  ideas.  The  sole  animating  and 
dominating  purpose  was  justice  to  the  man  who  was 
prepared  to  give  his  all  for  the  Nation.  The  country 
felt  that  it  could  do  no  less  than  give  its  best  to 
requite  him.  That  justice  was  conceived  to  be  restora- 
tion to  opportunity  in  so  far  as  it  was  humanly  pos- 
sible to  accomplish,  with  such  compensation  as  could 
be  made  for  the  impairment  of  earning  power.  To 
the  honor  and  credit  of  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  the  necessary  legislation  was  passed  without  a 
dissenting  vote,  without  a  voice  being  raised  in  either 
criticism  or  protest  —  surely  a  remarkable  record,  and 
an  augury  of  the  further  results  to  be  expected  from 
the  quick  grasp  our  public  servants  took  upon  the 
essential  principles  of  justice  which  are  the  founda- 
tion of  the  rehabilitation  programme.  In  fairness  to 
the  Congress  it  should  be  recorded  that  it  wished  to 
extend  the  benefits  of  vocational  rehabilitation  to  the 
disabled  of  industry  at  the  same  time  that  the  soldiers' 
and  sailors'  bill  was  passed,  and  refrained  only  upon 

viii 


PREFACE 

the  advice  of  friends  and  advocates  of  both  redemp- 
tion projects. 

Undoubtedly  this  new  national  policy  will  exert 
very  beneficent  influences  upon  our  future  industrial 
and  social  life.  The  rectification  of  injustices  now 
suffered  by  those  disabled  in  employments,  a  yearly 
toll  of  maimed  and  injured  which  in  the  aggregate 
far  exceeds  all  the  casualties  the  Nation  has  suffered 
in  the  war  just  ended  with  those  of  the  Civil  War 
added,  offers  a  wide  field  for  practical  and  construc- 
tive effort.  At  the  same  time,  there  will  be  as  a 
result  of  this  retraining  of  the  disabled  concrete  evi- 
dences in  almost  every  community  of  the  value  of 
specialized  vocational  education.  These  living  testi- 
monials will  inevitably  emphasize  the  advantages  of 
vocational  training  for  those  who  have  not  suffered 
physical  impairment,  and  thus  give  impetus  to  the 
more  general  acceptance  of  this  inherently  practical 
system  of  training  for  life  work.  When  that  time 
comes,  there  will  be  eliminated  many  of  those  lost 
years  of  young  manhood  and  young  womanhood 
wherein  workers  who  have  no  particular  ability  earn 
only  the  small  rewards  mediocrity  and  lack  of  skill 
have  ever  been  able  to  obtain. 

Much  has  been  written  on  various  aspects  and  de- 
velopments of  vocational  rehabilitation  for  disabled 
soldiers.  In  the  main  it  has  either  dealt  with  techni- 
cal features  of  no  particular  interest  to  the  average 
reader,  or  else  the  superficial  features  of  occupational 
therapy  have  engaged  the  attention  of  magazine  ex- 
positors. At  best  it  has  been  fragmentary  and  widely 
scattered  as  regards  the  whole  subject,  nor  has  there 
been  anywhere  a  comprehensive  chronicle  of  the  rise 
and  development  of  this  movement  in  the  United 
States  to  its  present  status.  There  is  a  plain  demand 
for  a  record  dealing  with  the  whole  subject  in  general 

ix 


PREFACE 

terms  and  particularizing  with  respect  to  the  accept- 
ance of  the  fundamental  principles  by  the  United 
States  Government  and  their  development  in  this 
country.  With  that  aim  in  view  the  present  work 
Was  undertaken.  Much  of  the  material  was  obtained 
from  original  sources  opened  to  the  Federal  Board 
for  Vocational  Education  in  its  studies  on  the  subject 
of  vocational  rehabilitation  of  the  disabled  in  Europe. 
Other  data,  public  documents  of  other  nations  and 
similar  material,  have  been  available,  were  drawn 
upon  when  occasion  required  and  fitted  to  their  places 
in  the  narrative.  My  effort  has  been  to  present  a 
general,  non-technical,  but  at  the  same  time  accurate 
survey  of  the  whole  field  with  emphasis  upon  that  part 
of  especial  interest  to  the  people  of  the  United  States. 

Acknowledgment  of  very  valuable  assistance  and 
contribution  of  material  by  Dr.  John  Cummings  of 
the  Research  Department  of  the  Federal  Board  is 
appreciatively  made,  as  well  as  the  advice  and  in- 
terest of  the  editor  of  this  series  throughout  all  stages 
of  the  book's  preparation. 

If  the  book  serves  to  assist  in  directing  attention  to 
this  new  system  of  practical,  individual  justice,  this 
new  exorcism  of  dependency,  this  truly  wonderful 
message  of  hope,  and  thus  in  some  degree  causes  the 
public  mind  to  persist  in  these  inquiries  and  develop- 
ments which  mean  so  much  to  the  individuals  affected, 
and  through  these  individuals  redeemed  to  humanity 
at  large,  I  shall  feel  amply  rewarded. 

GAKRARD  HARRIS. 


FOREWORD 

The  United  States  was  the  last  of  the  great  nations 
to  join  the  Allies  who  were  battling  against  the  Hun 
for  the  decency  and  the  liberty  of  the  world.  Con- 
sequently it  was  the  last  of  the  belligerents  to  make 
provision  for  the  proper  rehabilitation  of  the  soldiers 
and  sailors  disabled  in  the  fight  for  our  national 
honor  and  our  national  safety.  While  the  scheme  for 
the  vocational  reeducation  and  placement  in  employ- 
ment of  our  disabled  warriors  came  last  in  point  of 
time,  it  stands  first  in  the  liberality  with  which  this 
Government  has  made  provision  for  the  proper 
restoration  to  civil  life  of  those  injured  or  disabled 
in  the  Great  War. 

How  successful  the  plan  of  vocational  rehabilitation 
for  this  country  which  Mr.  Harris  has  described  in 
this  book  will  be  in  restoring  our  disabled  warriors 
to  successful  and  happy  employment  depends  upon 
the  efficiency  with  which  the  Federal  Board  for 
Vocational  Education  is  able  to  discharge  the  re- 
sponsibility for  that  work  as  committed  to  it  by  the 
Congress. 

A  large  part  of  this  book  is  devoted  to  a  most  ex- 
cellent exposition  of  the  law  and  the  plans  and  policies 
of  the  Board  in  the  administration  of  the  Vocational 
Rehabilitation  Act  which  became  law  on  June  27, 
1918.  As  Mr.  Harris  is  connected  in  an  editorial 
capacity  with  the  Board,  he  speaks  with  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  its  work  and  plans.  Combining  with 
this  a  deep  and  enthusiastic  interest  in  the  whole 
problem  of  the  handicapped  man  and  a  rare  ability 
to  write  in  an  attractive  way,  he  has  been  able  to  make 

xi 


FOREWORD 

what  I  regard  as  a  most  distinct  contribution  to  the 
literature  of  the  whole  subject. 

Those  interested  in  a  popular  comparative  study  of 
the  schemes  of  all  the  belligerents  for  the  vocational 
rehabilitation  of  their  disabled  men  will  find  that  the 
author  has  not  only  looked  forward  toward  the  work 
before  the  Federal  Board,  but  has  also  summarized 
clearly  the  plans  and  policies  of  our  allies  and  pointed 
out  the  essential  oneness  of  aim  and  the  necessary 
differences  in  procedure  between  each  of.  them  and 
our  own  country. 

Best  of  all,  Mr.  Harris  has  set  forth  the  philosophy 
of  the  whole  movement  for  the  rehabilitation  of  handi- 
capped persons  whether  injured  in  war  or  in  the  dis- 
charge of  the  duties  of  their  civilian  employments. 
The  fundamental  justification  and  aim  of  the  work  is 
not  that  of  gratitude  to  those  who  have  been  injured 
in  the  Nation's  defense,  though  this  is  a  holy  reason 
and  the  moving  cause  of  the  liberal  provisions  which 
the  warring  nations  have  made  for  their  wounded 
men.  Far  deeper  than  this,  even  though  society  may 
not  yet  be  fully  conscious  of  the  trend  of  this  legis- 
lation, is  the  need  for  the  conservation  of  our  human 
resources  and  the  demand  for  social  justice  that  no 
democracy  redeemed  by  this  awful  war  can  deny. 
Without  reeducation  and  placement  in  employment, 
disabled  soldiers  and  sailors  would  go  to  the  waste 
pile  as  social  dependents  as  so  many  have  done  in 
other  wars.  As  Mr.  Harris  points  out,  however,  the 
victims  of  our  modern  industrial  life  greatly  out- 
number those  injured  in  the  war.  Any  programme  for 
the  conservation  of  the  handicapped  has  but  little 
significance  until  it  includes  within  its  benefits  this 
larger  group,  unsupported  as  it  is  by  either  a  soldier's 
insurance  or  a  soldier's  compensation.  Whether  the 
handicapped  man  serve  society  in  war  or  in  peace,  his 

xii 


restoration  to  successful  employment  is  a  wise  busi- 
ness investment  certain  to  yield  large  deferred  divi- 
dends in  industrial  peace,  happy  homes,  self- 
dependent  workers,  and  national  prosperity. 

Most  important  and  fundamental  of  all,  the  restora- 
tion of  the  handicapped  man  as  a  useful,  self-support- 
ing member  of  society  needs  to  be  asserted  as  a 
national  policy,  and  never  more  so  than  in  these 
parlous  days  when  some  of  our  friends  among  the 
social  reformers  seem  to  forget  that  the  inherent 
spirit  and  purpose  of  a  democracy  is,  on  the  one  hand, 
to  establish  social  justice,  and,  on  the  other,  to  pro- 
vide the  education  and  the  opportunity  by  which  men, 
according  to  their  abilities  and  their  energies,  may  be 
able  "to  find  themselves  and  to  help  themselves." 

CHARLES  A.  PROSSEK. 


CONTENTS 

PREFACE        ......  VU 

FOREWORD  ........  xi 

INTRODUCTION 

PHYSICAL  RECONSTRUCTION 

Complete  physical  and  functional  restoration  the  ob- 
jective of  hospital  treatment  of  disabled  soldiers 
and  sailors  —  Division  of  Physical  Eeeonstruetion 
organized  in  the  Office  of  the  Surgeon-General  of 
the  Army  —  Its  facilities  extended  to  the  disabled 
of  the  Navy  and  the  Marine  Corps  —  Physical  recon- 
struction an  innovation  in  American  military  prac- 
tice —  The  system  developed  on  the  basis  of  foreign 
experience  —  Its  organization  and  personnel  —  Pub- 
licity measures  —  The  reeducation  programme  de- 
veloped with  the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational 
Education  —  Eeeonstruetion  hospitals  —  Occupa- 
tional therapy  and  "reconstruction  aides"  —  Cura- 
tive workshops  and  courses  of  instruction  —  Physio- 
therapy —  Special  hospitals  for  special  and  perma- 
ment  disabilities  —  Classification  of  the  disabled 
from  a  military  standpoint  —  Proportion  of  wounded 
refitted  for  military  service  —  Changed  conditions 
after  the  armistice  —  Extension  of  the  system  of  re- 
construction hospitals  —  Incidence  of  specific  dis- 
abilities—  Blindness  —  Deafness  and  speech  defect 
—  Amputation  cases  —  Tuberculosis  ...  3 

CHAPTER  I 

REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED  A  SOCIAL 
OBLIGATION 

The  soldier  of  democracy  essentially  a  civilian  —  Com- 
plete restoration  to  pre-war  civil  status  the  Nation 's 
obligation  toward  its  defenders  —  Eehabilitation, 
not  charity,  the  new  conception  of  national  duty 
toward  the  wounded  and  disabled  of  war  —  Con- 
XV 


CONTENTS 

serration  of  human  capacities  an  enlightened  social 
policy  —  Complexities  of  the  problem  of  redemption 
—  Diversity  of  disabilities  —  Disabilities  rarely 
total  but  mainly  special  and  relative  —  Continuity 
of  redemption  process  from  early  convalescence 
essential  —  Occupational  therapy  —  Compulsory 
vocational  rehabilitation  impossible  —  Status  of 
vocational  education  ...  .  14 


CHAPTER  II 

HUMAN  WASTAGE  UNDER  THE  PENSION  SYSTEM 

The  tide  of  our  pension  expenditures  still  rising  —  Ap- 
propriation for  1918-19  a  new  high  record  —  Total 
pension  expenditures  of  nearly  five  and  one-half 
billions  —  The  pension  roll  of  soldiers  and  widows 

—  The  monthly  allowances  —  Inmates  of  Soldiers ' 
Homes  —  Pensions    inadequate     to     discharge     the 
Nation's  debt  to  its  defenders  —  Their  welfare  in- 
sured  only    by   economic   rehabilitation  —  Needless 
wastage  of  human  capacities  is  the  lingering  blight 

of  previous  wars  —  The  programme  of  rehabilitation.         30 

CHAPTER  III 

THE  NATION'S  DUTY  TOWARD  THE  INDIVIDUAL 

Individual  self-respect  a  national  asset  —  Charity  the 
old  conception  of  national  duty  toward  the  disabled 
of  war  —  Evil  effects  of  the  pension  system  — 
Restoration  and  restitution  the  new  conception  of 
the  Nation's  duty  —  The  Nation  the  soldier's  debtor 

—  Disability     compensation  —  Vocational     reeduca- 
tion of  the  disabled 39 

CHAPTER  IV 

WHAT  THE  BELLIGERENT  NATIONS  HAVE 
UNDERTAKEN 

The  State's  regard  for  the  individual  enhanced  by  the 
war  —  Restoration  of  the  disabled  a  national  policy 
of  all  the  belligerents  —  Economic  value  of  the  dis- 
abled—  Restoration  policy  of  the  United  States  — 
Inclusion  of  the  disabled  of  industry  —  Evolution 
of  a  nsvr  social  policy  —  Its  further  possibilities  .  46 
xvi 


CONTENTS 
CHAPTER  V 

THE  PROBLEM  OP  RE-EDUCATION 

Probable  number  of  disabled  men  requiring  reeducation 
—  American  casualties  in  the  war  —  Experience  of 
Great  Britain  and  Canada  —  Eyesight  cases  —  Am- 
putation cases  —  Surgical  cases  a  comparatively 
simple  problem  —  Medical  cases  most  complicated 
and  troublesome  —  Placement  and  supervision  of  re- 
educated men  —  Placement  of  discharged  men  in 
their  former  occupations  —  Programme  of  the  Fed- 
eral Board  for  Vocational  Education  £3 

CHAPTER  VI 

BELGIUM,   THE  PIONEER  IN  RESTORATION  WORK 

Pitiable  state  of  the  disabled  Belgian  exiles  —  M.  Sehol- 
laert's  charitable  experiment  —  Curative  effects  of 
work  —  Depot  des  Invalides  at  Havre  —  Foundation 
and  development  of  the  Ecole  nationale  beige  des 
mutiles  de  la  guerre  at  Port  Villez  —  Organization 
and  courses  —  Compulsory  training  —  Provision  for 
professional  students  at  Paris  ....  64 

CHAPTER  VII 

SYSTEMATIC  DEVELOPMENT   IN   PRANCE 

Edouard  Herriot  and  the  Lyons  schools  —  The  Institut 
nationale  professionel  des  invalides  de  la  guerre  — 
Schools  established  by  private  philanthropy  —  Gov- 
ernment vocational  schools  —  Eeluctance  of  dis- 
charged men  to  return  for  training  —  Schools  at- 
tached to  hospitals  —  National  control  of  restoration 
work  —  Centers  of  readaptation  —  Registration  of 
the  disabled  —  Departmental  committees  —  Com- 
pensation of  workmen  —  School  discipline  —  Courses 
offered  —  French  losses  in  the  war  .  77 


British  policy  the  most  generous  to  the  disabled  —  Revo- 
lutionary   abandonment    of    pre-war    conceptions  — 
The     new     programme  —  Utilization     of     existing 
xvii 


CONTENTS 


agencies  —  Coordination  under  State  control  — 
Statutory  Committee  of  the  Royal  Patriotic  Fund 
Corporation  and  its  local  committees  —  Ministry  of 
Pensions  and  the  Special  Grants  Committee  —  Func- 
tions of  local  committees  —  Advisory  trade  com- 
mittees for  training  and  placement  —  Extreme  flexi- 
bility of  the  system  .  .  .  .  .  91 


CHAPTER  IX 

RESTORATION  WORK  IN  THE  CENTRAL  EMPIRES 

Germany  well  equipped   for  rehabilitation   of  the   dis- 
abled —  German  Federation  for  the  Care  of  Cripples 

—  Eespons'bility   evaded  by  the   Imperial   Govern- 
ment —  State      and      private      organization  —  The 
restoration  programme  —  Treatment  in  orthopaedic 
hospitals  —  Niirnburg  hospital  —  Diisseldorf  school 

—  Schools    for    the    one-armed  —  Placement  —  Per- 
centage of  cripples  restored  —  Estimate  of  German 
losses  —  Policy      of      Austria-Hungary  —  Vienna 
orthopasdie  hospital  and  schools  —  Policy  of  Austria 

—  Policy  of  Hungary  —  The  Invalidment        .          .       105 


CHAPTER  X 


THE  PRACTICAL  CANADIAN  SYSTEM 

First  provision  for  Canadian  wounded  —  The  Military 
Hospitals  Commission  —  Inception  of  vocational  re- 
education —  The  Invalided  Soldiers  Commission  — 
The  civilian  Department  of  Civil  Reestablishment  — 
Principles  of  the  restoration  scheme  —  Rehabilita- 
tion work  completely  demilitarized  —  Pension  allot- 
ments unaffected  by  retraining  —  Vocational  re- 
education limited  to  the  disabled  who  cannot  return 
to  their  former  occupations  —  Handling  the  return- 
ing invalids  —  Occupational  therapy  in  the  hospitals 
—  The  mechanism  and  process  of  restoration  —  Re- 
turning the  disabled  farmer  to  the  land  —  Free 
education  without  maintenance  open  to  all  soldiers 
not  requiring  retraining  —  Canadian  casualties  in 

th«  war »  124 

xviii 


CONTENTS 
CHAPTER  XI 

AUSTRALIA,   NEW  ZEALAND,    SOUTH  AFRICA, 
AND  INDIA 

Australian  Repatriation  Commission  —  State  and  local 
boards  —  Registration  and  retraining  —  Returning 
soldiers  to  the  land  —  New  Zealand  Discharged 
Soldiers '  Information  Department  —  Preferential 
employment  and  placement  of  returned  soldiers  — 
Vocational  retraining  not  popular  —  Facilities  for 
agricultural,  clerical  and  technical  training  —  Re- 
education in  South  Africa  left  to  private  initiative 
—  The  Johannesburg  Relief  Association  —  Training 
at  the  South  African  Military  Hospital,  near  Lon- 
don—  Imperial  Indian  Relief  Fund  —  Queen 
Mary's  School  at  Bombay  .....  136 


CHAPTER  XII 

ITALY  AND  HER  SPECIAL  PROBLEMS    . 

Italy  unprovided  with  facilities  at  the  beginning  of  the 
war  —  The  Milan  Insiitute  dei  Eacliitice  —  Provin- 
cial and  local  committees  —  Voluntary  national 
federation  of  committees  —  National  Board  for  the 
Protection  and  Assistance  of  War  Invalids  —  Its 
creation  and  functious  —  The  national  rehabilita- 
tion system  —  Placement  after  restoration  —  The 
disabled  and  accident  insurance  —  The  problem  of 
illiteracy  —  Courses  in  the  handicrafts  —  National 
War  Cripples  Association  —  Italian  casualties  .  147 

CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  PROBLEM  COMES  TO  AMERICA 

The  United  States  as  a  neutral  —  Slight  interest  in 
rehabilitation  work  abroad  —  Its  importance  to  the 
belligerents  —  The  spirit  underlying  their  restora- 
tion schemes  —  Entry  of  the  United  States  into  the 
war  —  An  agency  for  the  redemption  of  the  disabled 
at  hand  —  The  vocational-education  movement  in 
the  United  States  —  The  Federal  Vocational  Educa- 
tion Act  —  The  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Edu- 
cation —  Its  composition  and  functions  —  Its  early 
war  service  —  Its  immediate  availability  .  .  158 
xix 


CONTENTS 
CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OP  A  NATIONAL  PROGRAMME 

The  beginnings  of  the  movement — National  scope  of  the 
problem  —  Investigations  of  the  Federal  Board  for 
Vocational  Education  —  President  Wilson  interested 
—  Joint  conference  of  Government  bureaus  and 
private  organizations  —  Its  proposed  legislation  — 
The  programme  formulated  by  the  Council  of  Na- 
tional Defense  —  The  Federal  Board  for  Vocational 
Education  entrusted  with  its  execution  —  Congress 
and  the  Vocational  Kehabilitation  Act  —  Principles 
of  the  restoration  programme  .  .  .  .107 

CHAPTER  XV 

FINANCIAL  PROVISION  FOR  THE  DISABLED  SOLDIER 

The  War  Eisk  Insurance  Act  —  Evils  of  the  pension 
system  avoided  —  The  Government 's  liability  as  em- 
ployer in  the  dangerous  trade  of  war  —  Allotments 
and  allowances  to  dependents  of  enlisted  men  — 
Compensation  for  death  or  disability  —  The  demo- 
cratic principle  of  the  flat-rate  scale  of  disability 
compensation  —  The  danger  of  special  legislation  — 
Bearing  of  flat-rate  compensation  upon  the  voca- 
tional-rehabilitation programme  —  Rates  of  com- 
pensation for  death  and  total  disability  —  Problem 
of  rating  partial  disabilities  —  Voluntary  life  and 
total-disability  insurance  .  .  .  .  .377 

CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION  ACT 

Its  provisions  —  Classes  eligible  for  reeducation  — 
Powers  and  duties  of  the  Federal  Board  for  Voca- 
tional Education  —  Continuance  of  military  pay, 
allotments  and  allowances  during  training  —  Dis- 
ciplinary powers  of  the  Federal  Board  —  Extension 
of  training  to  classes  not  totally  incapacitated  — 
Cooperation  of  the  Federal  Board  with  other 
agencies  —  Physical  restoration  under  the  medical 
authorities  of  the  Army  and  Navy  —  Cooperation  in 
occupational  therapy  —  Special  gift  fund  for  voca- 
tional rehabilitation  authorized  —  Quarterly  and  an- 
nual reports  required  —  Rehabilitation  work  organ- 


CONTENTS 

ized  by  the  Federal  Board  —  Probable  period  of 
training  —  Instruction  not  limited  to  manual  trades 
and  industrial  processes  .....  193 

CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  PROCESS  OP  RESTORATION  :  CURE  BY  WORK 

An  improved  therapy  of  restoration  a  beneficent  by- 
product of  the  war  —  Hope  the  greatest  restorative 
and  work  its  ablest  assistant  —  Hospital  training  — 
Physical  processes  of  restoration  contributory  to 
vocational  rehabilitation  —  Cooperation  of  medical 
authorities  and  the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational 
Education  —  Three  stages  in  restoration  —  The  first 
stage,  acute  illness,  passed  abroad  —  The  stage  of 
convalescence  —  Occupational  therapy  — ' '  Invalid ' ' 
or  ' '  bedside ' '  occupations  —  The  ' '  curative  work- 
ahop"  —  The  final  stage  of  vocational  reeducation.  202 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE    CHOICE   OP  AN   OCCUPATION 

All  careers  open  to  the  disabled  man  —  The  welfare  of 
the  individual  the  criterion  of  choice  —  Vocational 
advisers  —  Their  qualifications  and  functions  — 
Medical  limitations  on  the  choice  of  an  occupation 
—  Previous  experience  of  the  patient  utilized  — 
Examples  of  retraining  in  specialized  branches  of 
pre-war  occupations  ......  213 

CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  TRAINING  ADAPTED  TO  INDIVIDUAL  NEEDS 

The  process  of  reeducation  a  civilian  function  —  The 
sense  of  individual  responsibility  and  initiative 
atrophied  in  military  service  —  Its  stimulation  a 
primary  purpose  —  Vocation  rehabilitation  an  in- 
dividual problem  —  Institutional  facilities  open  to 
the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education  — 
Practical  workshop  classes  a  concentrated  appren- 
ticeship—  Wide  range  of  occupations  and  courses 
available  —  Assistance  to  complete  interrupted  col- 
lege courses  —  Illiteracy  in  the  draft  —  Disabled 
illiterates  to  receive  a  fundamental  education  — 
Vocational  instruction  given  in  small  groups  .  221 

xxi 


CONTENTS 
CHAPTER  XX 

THE  PROBLEM  OF  PLACEMENT 

Placement  an  essential  part  of  the  restoration  pro- 
gramme—  Employers  protected  against  increased 
casualty-insurance  rates  —  Prejudice  against  em- 
ployment of  "cripples"  —  The  retrained  man  de- 
pendent upon  no  special  favors  —  A  Government 
placement  agency  organized  —  Cooperation  of  state, 
local  and  private  agencies  —  A  survey  of  industrial 
opportunities  made  —  Attitude  and  education  of  the 
employers  —  The  period  of  probation  and  adjust- 
ment —  Work  the  acid  test  of  training  —  Retrain- 
ing and  replacement  of  misfits  —  Follow-up  work 
after  placement  —  A  square  deal  for  the  man  and 
for  the  employer  —  The  attitude  of  organized  labor.  232 


CHAPTER  XXI 

OPPORTUNITIES  FOR  THE  RETRAINED  IN  THE 
PUBLIC  SERVICE 

The  Federal  Government  as  an  employer  of  labor  —  Its 
functions  enormously  extended  under  Avar  conditions 

—  Probable  permanent  extension  of  the  civil  service 

—  Positions  and  appointments  in  the  Federal  service 
in  normal  years  —  Opportunities  open  to  the  dis- 
abled   in    the    competitive    positions  —  Preferential 
appointment  from  lists  of  eligibles  proposed  —  Op- 
portunities in  state  and  municipal  civil  service  — 
Public  service  in  France  reserved  for  the  disabled.       246 


CHAPTER  XXII 

RECORDS  OP  INDIVIDUAL  SUCCESS 

Success  of  the  reeducated  demonstrated  abroad  —  Ex- 
amples from  Canadian  experience  —  Men  retrained 
with  enhanced  earning  capacity  —  A  rehabilitated 
blind  man  —  Rehabilitated  farmers  —  A  score  of 
miscellaneous  cases  —  Oxy-acteylene  welding  .  .  255 
xxii 


CONTENTS 
CHAPTER  XXIII 

THE  DUTY  OF  THE  HOME  COMMUNITY 

The  Government's  power  of  rehabilitation  definitely 
limited  —  Behabilitation  dependent  ultimately  upon 
the  attitude  and  efforts  of  the  home  community  — 
Duties  of  the  home  community  towards  the  disabled 
man  —  Provision  of  employment  —  The  disabled 
man  entitled  to  a  fair  trial  as  worker  and  citizen  — 
Social  rehabilitation  a  paramount  duty  —  The  dis- 
abled man  needs  encouragement,  not  commiseration 
—  Full  admission  to  community  fellowship  the 
obligation  of  the  home  community  .  .  .  266 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

A   SUSTAINED  PUBLIC   SENTIMENT  NECESSARY 

The  Vocational  Eehabilitation  Act  a  reflection  of  public 
sentiment  —  Success  of  the  programme  dependent 
upon  sustained  public  interest  —  Public  opinion 
should  condemn  pensioned  idleness  —  Dangers  of 
the  sinecure  job  for  the  untrained  man  —  The 
women's  part  —  Public  opinion  crystallized  in  a 
consistent  course  of  conduct  —  Disregard  of  dis- 
abilities and  concentration  on  capabilities  of  the 
disabled  man  essential  —  The  disabled  man  in  trade 
entitled  to  some  preference  in  patronage  —  Sound 
and  permanent  public  sentiment  dependent  upon  in- 
dividual interest  —  The  disabled  man  the  brother 
in  arms  of  those  who  have  fought  the  fight  at  home.  277 

CHAPTER  XXV 

•* 

THE  LARGER  PROBLEM  :  SALVAGING  THE  DISABLED 
OF    INDUSTRY 

Industry  takes  annually  as  great  a  toll  of  man  power  as 
war  on   a   colossal   scale  —  Fourteen   thousand   an- 
nually   permanently    crippled    in    industry  —  Addi- 
tional ravages  of  tuberculosis  and  occupational  dis- 
eases—  Estimates    of    specific    disabilities  —  Total 
loss    of    man    power    through    non-fatal    industrial 
accidents  —  The    organization    for    vocational    re- 
habilitation of  the  war  disabled  to  be  devoted  to 
its    salvage  —  The    movement    in    Congress  —  The 
pending  legislation        ......       288 

xxiii 


CONTENTS 
CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE  PLACE  OF  THE  STATES  IN  THE  PROGRAMME 

Early  state  projects  for  disabled  soldiers  —  Industrial 
surveys  —  State  activity  suspended  on  enactment  of 
the  Vocational  Rehabilitation  Act  —  Opportunities 
for  state  cooperation  —  Suspension  of  civil  contracts 
against  disabled  men  —  Assistance  in  placement  — 
Reclamation  of  waste  lands  for  farm  communities 
—  Assistance  in  the  purchase  of  farms  —  Tenancy 
the  cause  of  the  drift  from  the  land  —  Placement 
of  the  reeducated  disabled  of  industry  a  state  func- 
tion —  Its  relation  to  the  land  problem  —  Con- 
clusion ........  300 

INDEX  309 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Occupational  therapy  through  bedside  occupations,  U.  S. 
Army  General  Hospital  No.  9,  Lakewood,  New 
Jersey  .....  Frontispiece 

Teaching  the  blind  to  read  and  write  Braille  at  Ever- 
green, U.  S.  Army  General  Hospital  No.  7,  Kolaud 
Park,  Maryland  ....  Facing  12 

Retraining  the  blind  as  masseurs,  St.  Dunstan's  Hostel 

for  the  Blind,  London  .         .         .         Facing         12 

French  brush  maker,  blinded  and  with  right  arm  gone, 
who  pursues  his  trade  with  a  mechanical  work  arm 
and  other  special  apparatus  .  .  Facing  24 

A  French  carpenter  with  left  arm  gone  in  training  to 
resume  his  trade  at  the  Paris  Ecole  des  Mutiles 

Facing        48 

The  machine  shop  at  the  pioneer  National  Belgian  School 

for  War  Disabled  at  Port  Villez,  France         Facing         70 

Toy  makers  at  the  Ecole  Joffre,  Lyons,  France,  each 
man  lacking  an  arm  through  either  amputation  or 
paralysis  ......  Facing  80 

The  shoe-repairing  workshop  at  S't.  Dunstan's  Hostel  for 

the  Blind,  London         ....         Facing       100 

Disabled     men     being     retrained     as     power-machinery 

operators  on  Canadian  farms  .          .         Facing       132 

Hindus  with  leg  amputations  learning  to  operate  knit- 
ting machines,  Queen  Mary's  Technical  School, 
Bombay,  India  .....  Facing  144 

Italian  soldiers  with  leg  amputations  being  trained  as 
tailors  by  the  Naples  Committee  for  War  Cripples 

Facing       154 

Fitting  artificial  legs  in  a  Canadian  institution      Facing       174 

xxv 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Patient  in  a  Montreal  hospital  operating  a  hand  loom, 

a  favorite  bedside  occupation  .          .         Facing       206 

'Wood   carving,   a   treatment   prescribed    for    functional 

restoration  of  wrist  and  fingers      .          .         Facing       20,; 

Curative  workshop  at    U.  S.    Army    General    Hospital 

No.  9,  Lake  wood,  New  Jersey        .          .         Facing       234 

A  man  with  legs  completely  paralyzed  in  training  as  a 
linotype  operator  at  Dunwoody  Industrial  Institute, 
Minneapolis  .....  Facing  264 

Training  in  oxy-acetylene  welding  at  Dunwoody  Indus- 
trial Institute,  Minneapolis  .  .  .  Facing  264 

Class  in  mechanical  drafting  under  a  one-armed  in- 
structor, Bed  Cross  Institute  for  Crippled  and  Dis- 
abled Men,  New  York  .  .  "  .  Facing  282 

Woodworking  class  at  the  sanitarium  for  tuberculous 
Canadian  soldiers,  Sto.  Agathe-des-Monts,  Quebec 

Facing       282 

Four  French  mutiles  with  arm  amputations  mowing  hay 

with  mechanical  work  arms  .          .         Facing       304 


AXVI 


THE  REDEMPTION 
OF  THE  DISABLED 


INTRODUCTION 

PHYSICAL   RECONSTRUCTION 

FRANK  BILLINGS  i 

Complete  physical  and  functional  restoration  the  objective  of 
hospital  treatment  of  disabled  soldiers  and  sailors  —  Divi- 
sion of  Physical  Keconstruction  organized  in  the  office  of 
the  Surgeon-General  of  the  Army  —  Its  facilities  extended 
to  the  disabled  of  the  Navy  and  the  Marine  Corps  — 
Physical  reconstruction  an  innovation  in  American  military 
practice  —  The  system  developed  on  the  basis  of  foreign 
experience  —  Its  organization  and  personnel  —  Publicity 
measures  —  The  reeducation  programme  developed  with 
the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education  —  Eecon- 
struction  hospitals  —  Occupational  therapy  and  ' '  recon- 
struction aides  "  —  Curative  workshops  and  courses  of 
instruction  —  Physiotherapy  —  Special  hospitals  for  special 
and  permanent  disabilities  —  Classification  of  the  disabled 
from  a  military  standpoint  —  Proportion  of  wounded  re- 
fitted for  military  service  —  Changed  conditions  after  the 
armistice  —  Extension  of  the  system  of  reconstruction 
hospitals  —  Incidence  of  specific  disabilities  —  Blindness  — 
Deafness  and  speech  defect  —  Amputation  cases  —  Tuber- 
culosis. 

In  August,  1917,  the  Surgeon-General  of  the  United 
States  Army  organized  the  Division  of  Physical  Re- 
construction of  disabled  soldiers  in  his  Office.  Physical 
reconstruction  was  defined  as  indicating  continued 
treatment  of  patients  to  the  degree  of  as  complete 
physical  and  functional  restoration  as  is  consistent 
with  the  nature  of  their  several  disabilities.  On  May 
10, 1918,  arrangements  were  made  with  the  Bureau  of 
Medicine  and  Surgery  of  the  Department  of  the  Navy 
whereby  the  Surgeon-General  of  the  Army  was  given 

i  Colonel,  Medical  Corps,  U.  S.  Army ;  Chief  of  the  Division 
of  Physical  Reconstruction,  Office  of  the  Surgeon-General. 

3 


EEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

charge  of  such  sailors  and  marines  as  require  physical 
reconstruction. 

Although  physical  reconstruction  of  the  disabled 
has  been  practiced  to  some  degree  in  American  civilian 
hospitals,  this  provision  was  an  innovation  in  our 
military  practice.  Physical  reconstruction,  however, 
was  an  established  practice  in  the  military  hospitals 
of  practically  all  other  modern  Governments.  Its  best 
expression  in  the  Great  War  is  found  in  Great  Britain, 
France  and  Italy  of  our  allies.  Russia  even  during 
the  early  period  of  the  revolution  was  able  efficiently 
to  reconstruct  her  sick  and  disabled  men.  The  well 
developed  military  organization  of  Germany  included 
a  splendid  system  of  physical  reconstruction  of  sick 
and  wounded  soldiers. 

The  plans  for  the  physical  reconstruction  of  disabled 
American  soldiers  and  sailors  under  the  direction  of 
the  Surgeon-General  were  formulated  upon  the  expe- 
rience of  the  medical  departments  of  the  armies  of 
our  allies  in  the  war.  This  information  was  obtained 
by  a  personal  survey  in  the  field  and  by  a  review  of 
the  literature  pertaining  to  the  subject  obtained  by  a 
special  committee  appointed  for  that  purpose.  The 
field  survey  was  made  in  part  through  the  inter- Allied 
committee  of  France,  England  and  Italy  and  by  field 
officers  from  the  Surgeon-General's  Office  sent  to 
Canada  for  that  purpose. 

For  the  purpose  of  administration  there  "was  organ- 
ized in  the  Office  of  the  Surgeon-General,  under  the 
Division  of  Physical  Reconstruction,  a  personnel  con- 
sisting of  a  chief  and  assistant  chief  and  Departments 
of  Education  and  of  Physiotherapy.  For  the  head  of 
the  Education  Department  was  secured  the  services 

4 


of  an  educator  of  wide  reputation,  with  assistants 
qualified  as  technical  educators  in  agriculture,  in  the 
industries,  and  in  psychology.  That  certain  perma- 
nent disabilities  of  soldiers  might  receive  special  at- 
tention, departments  for  teaching  the  blind  and  the 
deaf  were  created.  The  personnel  of  the  various 
departments  included  qualified  medical  officers  as 
advisers  to  the  several  departments  in  the  Division 
and  for  field  service. 

It  was  early  recognized  that  publicity  would  be 
necessary  to  educate  the  disabled  soldiers  as  to  the 
need  of  continued  treatment  to  restore  them  as  fully 
as  the  nature  of  their  disabilities  permitted,  and  also 
for  the  purpose  of  arousing  the  families  of  the  disabled 
soldiers  and  the  general  public  to  the  need  of  physical 
reconstruction,  so  that  the  soldiers  might  be  able  to 
return  to  civil  life  completely  restored  to  health,  or 
at  least  with  the  handicaps  of  permanent  disability 
overcome  by  efficient  training  and  reeducation  better 
to  fit  them  for  their  old  jobs  or  to  qualify  them  for 
new  and  lucrative  occupations.  To  this  end,  in  June, 
19-18,  the  Surgeon-General  began  the  publication  of 
the  magazine  Carry  On  as  a  means  of  disseminating 
knowledge  of  the  plans  for  the  physical  reconstruction 
of  disabled  men,  for  the  information  of  the  disabled 
themselves,  their  families,  and  the  general  public. 

The  problem  of  the  Surgeon-General  was  rendered 
less  difficult  and  was  placed  upon  an  entirely  rational 
basis  by  the  enactment  by  Congress  of  a  law,  approved 
by  the  President  on  June  27,  1918,  which  placed  upon 
the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education  the  re- 
sponsibility for  the  training  and  reeducation  of  dis- 
abled soldiers  and  sailors  discharged  from  the  Army 

5 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

or  the  Navy,  who  because  of  their  disabilities  were 
unable  successfully  to  follow  their  old  occupations  or 
who  needed  training  for  new  occupations.  Between 
the  Medical  Department  of  the  Army  and  the  Federal 
Board  for  Vocational  Education  a  satisfactory  cooper- 
ative programme  was  adopted  for  the  training  and 
reeducation  of  the  disabled  soldiers  by  a  responsible 
Educational  personnel  in  the  military  hospitals  and  a 
continuation  of  this  training  and  reeducation  after 
discharge  of  the  soldiers  by  the  Federal  Board.  Under 
the  law  the  Federal  Board  was  also  made  responsible 
for  the  placement  of  the  discharged  disabled  soldiers 
and  sailors  after  training  and  reeducation  in  civilian 
occupations. 

Early  in  1918  the  Surgeon-General  directed  that 
certain  general  military  hospitals  should  be  designated 
to  carry  on  the  work  of  physical  reconstruction  of 
disabled  soldiers.  In  each  hospital,  in  addition  to  the 
medical  officers,  there  was  appointed  a  personnel  con- 
sisting of  a  chief  educational  officer  qualified  in  gen- 
eral education,  with  assistants  qualified  as  teachers  in 
the  industries  and  in  agriculture  and  with  the  neces- 
sary instructors.  The  War  Department  authorized 
the  Medical  Department  to  employ  civilians  for 
curative-workshop  instruction.  The  term ' '  reconstruc- 
tion aides"  was  adopted  as  the  name  for  instructors 
in  the  handcrafts  for  applying  occupational  therapy 
to  patients  confined  to  beds  and  chairs  in  wards. 
These  instructors  were  selected  on  the  basis  of  quali- 
fications to  teach  the  handcrafts  in  work  with  textile 
materials,  such  as  weaving,  knitting,  rug  making,  and 
knotting;  in  reed,  cane,  and  fibre  work,  such  as 
basketry  and  brushmaking;  in  woodworking,  such  as 

6 


PHYSICAL  RECONSTRUCTION 

carving  and  whittling ;  in  cardboard  construction  and 
binding,  such  as  bookbinding  and  novelty  box  work ;  in 
work  in  applied  design,  such  as  stenciling  and  block 
printing ;  in  metal  work,  such  as  jewelry ;  in  work  in 
plastic  materials,  such  as  pottery  and  modeling;  and 
also  for  academic  work,  teaching  the  illiterate  reading, 
English,  spelling,  arithmetic,  and  other  academic 
studies. 

Workshops  were  created  in  the  reconstruction  hos- 
pitals where  the  soldier  who  had  reached  the  ambula- 
tory stage  could  receive  curative  work  in  technical 
courses,  including  automobile  driving  and  mechanics, 
blacksmithing,  carpentry,  bench  woodworking,  con- 
crete working,  electricity,  gunsmithing,  general  me- 
chanics, instrument  repairing,  machinist,  mine  drill 
runner,  plumbing  and  pipe  fitting,  radio  operator, 
radio  electrician,  telegraphy,  sheetmetal  working,  vul- 
canizing, welding,  wheelwright,  drafting,  painting, 
printing,  drawing,  sign  painting,  cartoonist,  shoe  re- 
pairing, weaving  (rug),  woodworking,  furniture  re- 
pairing, chair  caning,  cabinet  work,  ring  making,  book- 
binding, willow  work.  Commercial  instruction  was 
given  in  business  correspondence,  bookkeeping,  com- 
mercial law,  shorthand  and  typewriting.  Agricultural 
pursuits,  such  as  poultry  raising,  animal  husbandry, 
crop  study  and  gardening,  were  taught  in  the  field, 
ward  and  greenhouse,  with  the  application  of  light 
curative  work  in  grass  cutting,  path  making  and  road 
grading. 

Modern  standardized  physiotherapy  was  provided 
for  in  buildings  and  equipment  for  the  application 
of  hydro-  electro-  and  mechanotherapeutics,  to  which 
was  added  recreational  courses  in  military  drill,  walks, 

7 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

physical  training,  and  all  sorts  of  play.  Each  recon- 
struction hospital  has  qualified  personnel  in  physio- 
therapy, consisting  of  a  director  with  reconstruction 
aides  in  physiotherapy. 

The  Publicity  Department  of  the  Division  of  Physi- 
cal Reconstruction  provided  encouragement  in  the 
hospitals  in  the  form  of  circulars  prepared  to  furnish 
information  to  the  disabled  soldiers  concerning  their 
future.  In  cooperation  with  the  Federal  Board  for 
Vocational  Education  and  the  Bureau  of  War  Risk 
Insurance,  more  extended  literature  indicating  the 
provisions  made  by  the  Government  for  the  soldier 
was  prepared  and  distributed.  Technical  and  general 
literature  was  provided  for  each  hospital  through  the 
Library  War  Service  of  the  American  Library 
Association. 

Actual  work  was  begun  in  U.  S.  Army  General 
Hospital  No.  2,  Fort  McHenry,  Baltimore,  Maryland, 
and  at  Walter  Reed  General  Hospital,  Washington, 
D.  C.,  in  March,  1918;  at  General  Hospital  No.  9, 
Lakewood,  New  Jersey,  and  at  General  Hospital  No.  6, 
Fort  McPherson,  Georgia,  in  April;  and  at  General 
Hospital  No.  17,  Markleton,  Pennsylvania,  in  May. 
Gradually  a  number  of  hospitals  were  added  with  the 
designation  of  special  hospitals  for  the  treatment  and 
training  of  the  permanently  disabled,  the  blind  at 
General  Hospital  No.  7,  Roland  Park,  Maryland;  of 
the  deaf  at  General  Hospital  No.  11,  Cape  May,  New 
Jersey ;  of  the  amputation  cases  at  Walter  Reed  Gen- 
eral Hospital ;  of  the  shell-shock  cases  at  General  Hos- 
pital, Plattsburg  Barracks,  New  York,  and  at  General 
Hospital  No.  13,  Dansville,  New  York;  of  the  tuber- 
culous soldiers  at  Fort  Bayard  General  Hospital,  New 

8 


PHYSICAL  RECONSTRUCTION 

Mexico,  at  General  Hospital  No.  8,  Otisville,  New 
York,  at  General  Hospital  No.  16,  New  Haven,  Con- 
necticut, at  General  Hospital  No.  17,  Markleton, 
Pennsylvania,  at  General  Hospital  No.  18,  "Waynes- 
ville,  North  Carolina,  and  at  the  two  new  General 
Hospitals  at  Azalea,  North  Carolina,  and  Denver, 
Colorado. 

Up  to  the  signing  of  the  armistice,  continued  treat- 
ment in  the  form  of  physical  reconstruction  from  a 
military  standpoint  resulted  in  the  classification  of 
disabled  soldiers  as  (1)  those  who  could  be  restored 
to  full  duty;  (2)  those  who  could  be  fitted  for  limited 
service;  and  (3)  those  who  were  so  disabled  as  to  unfit 
them  for  further  military  service,  to  be  referred  to  the 
Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education  after  dis- 
charge from  the  Army. 

Before  the  armistice  was  signed  the  greater  number 
of  disabled  soldiers  returned  from  overseas  were  those 
whose  disabilities  were  considered  to  disqualify  them 
for  further  military  service.  A  majority  of  the 
combat-disabled  soldiers  received  continued  treatment 
in  the  overseas  military  hospitals.  Approximately  85 
per  cent,  of  these  disabled  men  were  able  to  return 
to  combat  service  within  a  maximum  period  of  10 
weeks.  Many  returned  to  combat  service  in  a  much 
shorter  period  of  time.  Of  the  remaining  15  per  cent, 
of  combat-disabled  soldiers,  a  relatively  large  per- 
centage, though  unfit  for  further  combat  service,  were 
returned  to  special  military  duty  in  the  non-combat 
zone.  It  was  found  that  many  of  the  soldiers  returned 
from  overseas  were  able  to  return  to  general  military 
service  after  a  period  of  treatment  in  the  domestic 
military  hospitals. 

9 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

With  the  signing  of  the  armistice  there  was  no 
longer  the  need  of  treatment  of  the  disabled  soldiers 
in  overseas  hospitals  for  the  purpose  of  restoring 
them  to  combat  service,  and  in  consequence  as  soon 
as  the  disabled  soldier  is  able  to  travel  he  is  returned 
to  the  United  States  for  continued  treatment  in  the 
military  hospitals.  With  the  changed  conditions  due 
to  the  armistice  it  became  necessary  to  amplify  the 
facilities  for  the  physical  reconstruction  of  the  larger 
number  of  patients  to  be  treated  in  the  military  hos- 
pitals in  the  United  States.  This  increased  bed 
capacity  was  secured  through  the  designation  as  recon- 
struction hospitals  of  17  base  hospitals  of  the  canton- 
ments of  various  parts  of  the  country.  The  facilities 
for  carrying  on  work  at  these  base  hospitals  was 
secured  through  the  alteration  of  existing  buildings 
and  the  installation  of  workshop  equipment  obtained 
through  the  Quartermaster  Department.  The  neces- 
sary increased  personnel  of  educational  officers  was 
obtained  through  the  authority  to  employ  civilians 
as  general  and  technical  educators. 

On  January  20,  1919,  physical  reconstruction  was 
carried  on  in  the  following  general  and  base  hospitals : 

U.  S.  Army  General  Hospital,  Fort  Bayard,  New  Mexico. 

Letterman,  San  Francisco, 
California. 

Walter  Reed,  Takoma 
Park,  D.  C. 

No.  2,  Fort  McHenry, 
Maryland. 

No.  3,  Colonia,  New  Jer- 
sey. 

No.  6,  Fort  McPherson, 
Georgia. 


PHYSICAL  RECONSTRUCTION 

U.  S.  Army  General  Hospital,  No.  7,  Roland  Park,  Mary- 
land. 

No.      8,      Otisville,     New 
York. 

No.     9,     Lakewood,    New 
Jersey. 

No.  10,  Boston,  Massachu- 
setts. 

No.   11,   Cape  May,   New 
Jersey. 

No.  16,  New  Haven,  Con- 
necticut. 

No.  17,  Markleton,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

No.  18,  Waynesville,  North 
Carolina. 

No.  19,  Oteen,  North  Caro- 
lina. 

No.  20,  Whipple  Barracks, 
Arizona. 

No.  21,  Denver,  Colorado. 

No.    24,   Parkview,   Penn- 
sylvania. 

No.  26,  Fort  Des  Moines, 
Iowa. 

No.    28,     Fort     Sheridan, 
Illinois. 

No.     29,     Fort     Snelling, 
Minnesota. 

No.    30,    Plattsburg    Bar- 
racks, New  York. 

No.  31,  Carlisle,  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

No.  36,  Detroit,  Michigan. 

No.   38,  East  View,   New 
York. 

No.  39,  Long  Beach,  New 

York. 
11 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

Departmental  Base  Hospital,  Fort  Sain  Houston,  Texas. 
Convalescent  Hospital,  Lawrenceville,  New  Jersey. 
Base  Hospital,  Camp  Custer,  Michigan. 

Camp  Devens,  Massachusetts. 

Camp  Dix,  New  Jersey. 

Camp  Dodge,  Iowa. 

Camp  Funston,  Kansas. 

Camp  Gordon,  Georgia. 

Camp  Grant,  Illinois. 

Camp  Jackson,  South  Carolina. 

Camp  Kearney,  California. 

Camp  Lee,  Virginia. 

Camp  Lewis,  Washington. 

Camp  Meade,  Maryland. 

Camp  Pike,  Arkansas. 

Camp  Sherman,  Ohio. 

Camp  Taylor,  Kentucky. 

Camp  Travis,   Texas. 

Camp  Upton,  Long  Island,  New  York. 

The  training  of  the  blind  in  Braille  and  in  various 
occupations  is  most  efficiently  carried  out  at  Ever- 
green, U.  S.  Army  General  Hospital  No.  7,  Roland 
Park,  Maryland.  On  January  20  there  were  110  blind 
or  nearly  blind  patients  receiving  treatment.  Of  these 
three  were  civilians  who  were  blinded  while  employed 
in  war  industries  in  this  country.  Present  informa- 
tion indicates  that  there  are  still  to  be  returned  from 
overseas  approximately  90  more  blind  or  nearly  blind 
soldiers  and  sailors.  The  number  of  totally  blind  in 
the  Army  and  Navy  due  to  the  Great  "War  is  approxi- 
mately 100. 

The  deaf  and  those  with  speech  defects  are  treated 
and  trained  in  lip  reading  at  U.  S.  General  Hos- 
pital No.  11,  Cape  May,  New  Jersey.  The  training 
in  lip  reading  and  the  correction  of  speech  defects 

12 


Courtesy  Carry  On. 

TEACHING    THE     BLIND    TO    HEAD    AND    WRITE     BRAILLE     AT    EVERGREEN, 

U.    S.   ARMY  GENERAL    HOSPITAL   NO.   7,   HOLAND   PARK,    MARYLAND.     THE 

BLIND    SOLDIER    IS   BEING    RETRAINED    AS    A    PIANO    TUNER 


Courtesy  Red  Cross  Institute  for  Crippled  and  Disabled  Men. 

RETRAINING   THE    BLIND    AS    MASSEURS,   ST.    DUNSTAN's    HOSTEL   FOR   THE 

BLIND,    LONDON.       THIS    IS    A    PROFESSION    IN    WHICH    BLINDED 

ENGLISH    SOLDIERS    HAVE     BEEN     VERY    SUCCESSFUL 


PHYSICAL  KECONSTRUCTION 

has  been  most  satisfactory.  The  number  of  patients 
who  have  received  treatment  for  defects  of  hearing 
and  speech  is  72,  and  the  number  discharged  after 
satisfactory  training  up  to  January  4,  1919,  was  48. 
On  that  date  24  remained  under  treatment. 

Approximately  3,000  of  our  soldiers  and  sailors 
have  suffered  from  amputation  of  leg  or  arm  or  both. 
Soldiers  with  amputated  arms  or  legs  or  both  receive 
treatment  until  the  stump  is  in  satisfactory  condition 
for  the  application  of  a  provisional  artificial  leg  or 
arm  and  are  so  trained  as  to  be  able  to  take  care  of 
themselves.  Many  of  these  men  have  received  training 
and  education,  and  special  attention  has  been  given 
to  training  the  man  with  the  lost  arm  to  make  the 
remaining  member  perform  the  duties  of  both.  Ap- 
proximately 1,100  disabled  soldiers  with  a  lost  arm 
or  leg,  or  both,  have  been  returned  from  overseas. 

On  January  1,  1919,  the  number  of  tuberculous 
soldiers  whose  disability  was  designated  as  acquired 
in  the  line  of  duty,  under  treatment  in  the  military 
tuberculosis  sanatoria  was  5,195. 

Application  of  curative  work  in  the  treatment  of 
sick  and  wounded  soldiers  has  been  abundantly  justi- 
fied.   The  curative  work  hastens  complete  restoration! 
or  as  nearly  complete  as  the  nature  of  the  disability  \ 
permits.     It  improves  the  morale  of  the  patient^JH—- 
improves  discipline.  ,~Tr~eneettFages~  the"  disabled  man 
to  qualify  himself  for  a  future  occupation,»ancl  is  a 
decisive  factor  in  inducing  him  to  volunteer  for  the 
training  the  Government  has  provided  through  the 
Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education,  which  is  the 
subject  of  the  following  chapters. 

13 


CHAPTEE  I 

REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED  A  SOCIAL  OBLIGATION 

The  soldier  of  democracy  essentially  a  civilian  —  Complete 
restoration  to  pre-war  civil  status  the  nation's  obligation 
toward  its  defenders  —  Eehabilitation,  not  charity,  the 
new  conception  of  national  duty  toward  the  wounded  and 
disabled  of  war  —  Conservation  of  human  capacities  an 
enlightened  social  policy  —  Complexities  of  the  problem 
of  redemption  —  Diversity  of  disabilities  —  Disabilities 
rarely  total  but  mainly  special  and  relative  —  Continuity 
of  redemption  process  from  early  convalescence  essential 
—  Occupational  therapy  —  Compulsory  vocational  reha- 
bilitation impossible  —  Status  of  vocational  education. 

Essentially  the  soldier  of  democracy  is  a  civilian; 
only  incidentally  is  he  a  soldier. 

In  the  emergency  of  war,  of  a  war  waged  explicitly 
against  the  ideals  for  which  democracy  stands,  the 
ideals  of  freedom  and  of  civilization  as  opposed  to 
the  mediaeval  conception  of  Kultur,  civilian  citizens 
of  our  democracy  and  of  our  democratic  allies  have 
been  drafted  out  of  their  civilian  pursuits,  or  have 
voluntarily  abandoned  these  pursuits  to  take  up  for 
the  duration  of  the  war  the  trade  of  soldier  or  sailor. 

However  efficient  they  may  have  become  in  their 
new  trade,  they  have  no  intention  or  desire  to  stay  in 
that  trade  after  the  war  as  professional  fighters,  even 
if  there  were  opportunity  for  them  to  do  so  —  and 
there  will  not  be  any  such  opportunity.  When  peace 
has  been  concluded,  they  will  return  eagerly  to  their 
civilian  occupations,  completely  divesting  themselves 
of  their  temporarily  assumed  character  of  warrior. 

What  national  duty  confronts  the  democracies 
14 


REDEMPTION  A  SOCIAL  OBLIGATION 

which  called  these  men  to  national  service  for  war 
out  of  every  field  of  useful  employment?  It  is 
written  as  plain  as  a  pikestaff  that  the  democracies 
shall  restore  their  civilian  defenders;  so  far  as  pos- 
sible, to  their  pre-war  civil  status,  as  regards  capacity 
for  "carrying  on"  in  their  old  pursuits  or  in  new 
pursuits  for  which  they  may  be  fitted. 

Many  of  these  civilian  soldiers  after  the  peace  will 
return  to  normal  activities  better  fitted  to  pursue 
their  former  occupations  than  they  were  before  enter- 
ing military  service.  The  discipline,  training  and 
hardships  of  war  will  have  developed  character  and 
capacities  which  under  normal  conditions  might  not 
have  been  developed  at  all,  or  at  least  not  in  the  same 
degree.  Amid  all  its  ruthless  devastation  of  human 
welfare,  this  single  incidental  benefit  of  war  may  be 
freely  conceded  —  not  in  justification  of  war  as  a 
discipline  for  civil  life,  but  in  recognition  of  the  social 
value  of  the  capacity  to  struggle  and  win  against  the 
cult  of  barbarism  so  long  as  it  persisted,  against  every 
enemy  and  obstacle  to  civilization. 

Others  of  the  millions  whom  we  sent  overseas  — 
happily,  no  great  proportion  of  them  —  will  not 
return.  They  are  among  the  immortal  "missing" 
or  "killed  in  action."  They  have  made  the  supreme 
sacrifice,  yielding  up  their  lives  in  the  defense  of  our 
liberties.  "What  fair  claim  in  equity  can  we,  who 
benefit  by  their  sacrifice  and  have  even  required  it 
of  them,  set  forth  in  justification  of  our  procedure? 
"Why  we  should  have  been  passed  by  and  others  elected 
to  make  this  sacrifice  will  never  be  entirely  clear. 
We  who  are  the  beneficiaries  will  be  able  to  make  no 

15 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

sort  of  amend  to  those  who  are  numbered  among  the 
missing  and  the  killed  in  action.  Their  sacrifice  is 
a  finality.  We  and  the  generations  after  us,  however 
ample  our  gratitude,  will  remain  insolvent  debtors  to 
the  end  of  time. 

Between  these  extremes,  on  the  one  hand,  of  the 
men  who  return  fit  and  disciplined  by  war,  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  of  those  who  have  made  the  supreme 
sacrifice,  are  the  thousands  of  men  who  will  return 
more  or  less  broken,  diseased  and  disabled.  Our 
indebtedness  to  these  men  at  least  we  may  partially 
discharge. 

It  is  certain  that  in  these  first  days,  when  our  grati- 
tude is  surging  and  seeking  expression,  they  will  be 
received  back  with  open  arms.  Their  disabilities, 
their  mutilations  and  dismemberments  will  be  badges 
of  honor,  inspiring  respect  and  affection  in  their 
fellows  —  for  a  brief  period.  For  a  year,  to  quote 
a  French  mutile,  the  war  cripple  will  be  a  hero ;  after 
that,  for  life  he  will  be  only  a  cripple. 

Does  this  sound  unduly  cynical  ? 

Bear  in  mind  that  very  soon,  so  far  as  the  public  is 
concerned,  the  war  cripple  will  lose  character  as  a 
veteran.  He  cannot  wear  his  war  record  on  his 
sleeve.  In  appearance  he  will  become  a  one-legged, 
one-armed,  one-eyed,  blind,  disfigured,  or  invalided 
man.  "With  his  handicap,  if  he  is  abandoned,  he  will 
inevitably  drift  into  those  unskilled,  even  mendicant, 
employments  which  have  been  traditionally  reserved 
for  cripples. 

Is  it  conceivable  that  this  should  be  permitted,  that 
16 


REDEMPTION  A  SOCIAL  OBLIGATION 

we  should  allow  the  war  hero  to  become  a  mere  pen- 
sioner, or  an  inmate  of  a  home  for  old  soldiers,  or  a 
mendicant  vender  of  pencils  and  shoelaces?  It  is  of 
course  inconceivable  that  any  such  thing  should  be 
permitted  purposely,  with  plain  intent ;  but  it  is  more 
than  conceivable  that  it  might  happen  without  inten- 
tion, and  it  is  certain  to  happen  unless  a  conscious, 
determined,  persistent  effort  is  made  to  avoid  such  a 
discreditable,  but  entirely  natural  and  easy,  course  of 
negligence  on  the  part  of  the  community,  that  is  to 
say,  the  public,  the  state  and  the  National  Govern- 
ment, to  the  consequent  degeneration  of  the  disabled 
man. 

The  men  returning  from  France,  many  of  them, 
will  bring  back  into  the  walks  of  peaceful  life  dis- 
ablements of  mind  and  body,  but  these  shattered 
men,  as  well  as  those  who  return  unscathed,  will  bring 
back  with  them  also  the  same  human  interests, 
affections  and  desires  that  they  carried  overseas. 
They  will  enter  upon  the  old  paths  with  trembling 
limbs;  they  will  reach  out  to  pick  up  the  broken 
threads  of  life  with  nerveless  arms ;  they  will  resume 
all  the  responsibilities  of  life  with  decimated  powers, 
disabled  and  handicapped  in  their  efforts  to  provide 
for  themselves  and  their  dependent  loved  ones. 

What  sort  of  obligation  will  rest  upon  the  com- 
munity which  has  sent  them  forth  to  encounter  every 
sort  of  peril  and  hardship  in  its  defense  and  has 
broken  and  shattered  their  mental  and  physical 
capacities  ? 

It  is,  of  course,  abhorrent  to  think  that  our  civilian 
soldiers,  having  borne  the  brunt  of  our  war,  should 
be  abandoned  to  their  own  enfeebled  resources  and 

17 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

returned  to  their  families  as  dependents  and  burdens. 
But  it  should  be  equally  abhorrent  to  contemplate  the 
idea  that  the  community  should  rest  content  with 
any  policy  of  pauperization  or  pensioning,  however 
generous,  that  would  provide  simply  for  the  keep  of 
the  disabled  man  during  his  advancing  years. 

Stated  abstractly,  these  courses  are  inconceivable, 
but  the  inconceivable  has  happened  over  and  over 
again  in  the  history  of  wars,  and  these  very  things 
are  the  natural  consequences  of  the  traditional 
policies  of  social  provision  for  war  veterans.  They 
will  certainly  follow  unless  a  new  conception  of  the 
Nation's  duty  prevails  against  any  traditional  policy 
of  drift,  or  sentimentalism,  or  mere  material  pauper- 
ization. 

In  the  following  chapters  is  told  the  story  of  what 
has  been  undertaken  and  of  what  has  been  achieved 
for  men  disabled  in  the  war  by  ourselves  and  the 
other  belligerent  nations  acting  under  the  inspira- 
tion of  a  new  conception  of  national  duty  —  a  con- 
ception which  in  all  these  countries  has  triumphed 
over  all  remnants  of  conservatism  and  scepticism. 
The  end  and  purpose  of  the  new  conception  of  the 
Nation's  duty  is  complete  restoration  of  the  disabled 
and  their  reestablishment  in  civil  life  as  self-respect- 
ing, useful,  independent  citizens.  Any  thought  other 
than  complete  restoration,  or  as  nearly  as  possible 
complete,  is  repellant.  It  remains  only  to  determine 
fit  ways  and  means  of  achieving  this  restoration. 

Our  pbiin  duty,  it  happens,  is  also  our  plain  in- 

J,ej-est>__-/rhe  policy  of  restoration  is  the  policy  of 

conservation,  applied  in  this  instance  to  the  most 

18 


REDEMPTION  A  SOCIAL  OBLIGATION 

precious   asset   possessed   by   any   community  —  the 
asset  of  human  capacity.      The  craft  skill,  the  pro- 
fessional training  and  the  natural  talents  of  the  dis- 
abled  man    can   be   either    conserved   or   scrapped, 
MI      according  as  the  man  is  helped  or  abandoned  at  the 
crucial  time  when  he  is  seeking,  under  some  strange 
':       handicap,  to  reestablish  himself  in  civil  life. 
•'   I      No  detraction  of  social  motives  is  implied  in  the 
assertion  that  society  is  insuring  its  own  best  interests 
in    conserving   all   the    potential   capacities    in   the 
human  wastage  of  the  war.     For  the  disabled  man, 
conservation  of  his  powers  means  enjoyment  of  nor- 
i      mal  life.     It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  our  drafted 
I      men  are  all  "boys"  —  all  young  men  in  the  prime  of 
'     life,  who  may  fairly  anticipate  many  years  of  active, 
useful  employment.      For  the  community,  conserva- 
tion of  all  the  capacities  of  the  disabled  men  is  con- 
servation of  the  community's  life,  in  so  far  as  these 
thousands  of  young  men  enter  into  and  cooperate  in 
the  various  activities  and  interests  of  the  community 
or  the  public  at  large,  embracing  the  Government  as 
well,  municipal,  state,  and  National. 

To  train  and  educate  for  some  useful  employment 
is  a  social  interest,  a  matter,  if  you  like,  of  enlightened 
social  selfishness,  as  much  in  the  case  of  men  disabled 
in  the  war  as  it  is  in  the  case  of  the  youth  of  the  com- 
munity enrolled  in  our  public  schools.  It  is  no  dis- 
credit to  one  or  the  other  line  of  education  that  it  is 
socially  as  well  as  individually  beneficial  —  that  it  is 
expedient  and  economic  as  well  as  equitable  and  con- 
sistent with  all  our  feelings  of  human  sympathy. 

It  is  most  important  that  the  emotional,  vital 
powers,  originating  in  the  clear  obligation  resting 

19 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

upon  the  community  to  insure  in  every  respect  the 
future  welfare  of  the  disabled  soldier  or  sailor,  shall 
be  wisely  directed;  that  it  shall  not  be  dissipated  in 
futile  coddling  of  the  "hero,"  who  will,  if  he  be  a 
hero  in  fact,  find  such  coddling  fulsome  and  offensive, 
but  shall  be  utilized  so  as  to  aid  the  disabled  man  in 
escaping  from  every  sort  of  dependence  on  charity. 
The  greatest  offense  that  can  be  committed  against 
the  disabled  man  is  by  unwise,  misdirected  charity 
to  confine  him  in  the  ranks  of  charity  wards.  No 
self-respecting  hero  can  contemplate  with  any  interest 
or  satisfaction  a  life  of  dependency,  of  fulsome  sym- 
pathy, or  of  aimless  vacuity.  He  will  certainly  elect 
rather  a  life  of  opportunity,  of  useful  employment, 
and  of  service  within  such  capacities  as  have  been 
saved  from  the  devastation  of  the  battlefield. 

But  can  any  workable,  systematic  policy  of  con- 
servation be  devised  which  will  in  fact  effectively  con- 
serve and  develop  in  individual  cases  such  human 
capacities  as  have  survived  the  impairments  of  war? 
Will  it  not  be  found  that  each  case  of  a  young  man 
disabled  will  be  in  every  respect  quite  individual 
and  quite  dissimilar  from  every  other  case?  Are 
there  any  common  factors  in  these  thousands  of  indi- 
vidual problems  in  conservation  and  restoration 
that  promote  social  action  ? 

The  individual  diversities  in  the  problem,  the 
factors  making  any  simple  plan  of  training  inapplica- 
ble to  individual  cases,  are  obvious  enough.  The 
number  and  the  nature  of  the  disabilities  are  in- 
numerable, and  in  any  individual  case  the  aggregate 
disability  may  represent  any  combination  of  injuries, 

20 


EEDEMPTION  A  SOCIAL  OBLIGATION 

mutilations,  impairments  of  vital  functions,  and  dis- 
eases. Under  this  multiplicity  of  disabilities  lies  an 
equally  diverse  multiplicity  of  natural  capacities,  of 
occupational  and  professional  experience,  or  interests, 
of  material  resources,  and  of  social  status. 

Can  any  plan  of  restoration  comprehend  satis- 
factorily this  diversity  of  disabilities,  of  experience 
and  of  outlook?  "Will  it  not  be  necessary  rather  to 
proceed  without  plans  to  do  for  each  man  what  can  be 
done  for  him,  without  any  attempt  at  systematization 
or  socialization  of  the  work?  In  a  sense  the  answer 
is  "yes";  but  in  a  much  truer  sense  it  is  clearly 
''no."  The  unmistakable  answer  to  any  such  query 
is  to  be  found  in  the  experience  during  the  war  of  our 
allies  —  and,  it  may  be  added,  of  our  enemies  as  well. 
Eehabilitation  as  a  social,  organized,  systematized 
enterprise  has  been  and  is  being  undertaken  by  every 
belligerent  nation,  and  it  has  been  wonderfully  suc- 
cessful in  salvaging  the  human  wastage  of  the  war. 

The  achievements  of  the  belligerents  are  set  forth 
in  some  detail  in  the  chapters  following,  but  some 
conclusions  of  this  experience  in  the  redemption  of  the 
disabled  may  be  briefly  summarized  here. 

At  the  outset  it  should  be  realized  that  the  disabled 
man  is  not  necessarily  a  cripple,  a  one-armed  or  one- 
legged,  a  blinded,  or  even  a  disfigured  or  mutilated 
man.  He  is  much  more  commonly  a  man  who  has 
recovered  more  or  less  completely  from  some  wound, 
infection  or  disease,  so  far  as  further  active  medical 
or  surgical  treatment  is  concerned.  But  he  has 
emerged  from  this  treatment  with  impaired  physique 
—  with,  it  may  be,  a  weakened  heart,  an  infected 

21 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

lung,   a  disorganized  nervous  or  mental  system,   a 
stiffened  joint,  or  a  weakened  muscle. 

For  such  a  man  the  problem  is  not  one  of  devising 
an  artificial  arm  or  leg  which  will  do  the  work  of  a 
natural  arm  or  leg.  It  is  rather  a  matter  of  educat- 
ing the  man  in  an  occupation  in  which  his  acquired 
weakness  and  susceptibilities  to  disease  will  not  prove 
to  be  real  handicaps.  Of  such  occupations  there  is 
in  most  cases  a  wide  range  from  which  to  choose,  and 
training  for  one  of  these  pursuits  presents  in  the 
case  of  the  disabled  man  no  greater  difficulties  than 
are  encountered  in  the  vocational  training  of  normal 
individuals.  Cases  of  this  sort  constitute  a  very 
large  proportion  of  our  rehabilitation  cases.  Each 
man  so  disabled  will  be  directed  into  and  assisted  to 
master  that  vocation  which,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
physician  and  the  vocational  expert,  he  is  best  capable 
of  learning  and  practicing. 

The  gist  of  the  matter  is  that  disabilities,  whether 
they  be  incurred  in  war  or  in  industry,  are  not,  ex- 
cept in  comparatively  few  instances,  absolute  and 
total.  In  the  great  majority  of  cases  they  are  rather 
special  and  relative  to  some  given  employment  or 
group  of  employments. 

The  one-legged  man,  of  course,  is  incapacitated  for 
two-legged  pursuits,  but  when  one  surveys  the  whole 
field  of  industrial  occupations,  one  finds  that  the 
number  of  two-legged  pursuits  is  surprisingly  small. 
The  chances  are  preponderant  that  the  man  who 
loses  a  leg  in  the  war  will  be  able  to  resume  his  former 
occupation  on  the  basis  of  100  per  cent,  efficiency. 
In  the  few  instances  in  which  he  cannot  do  this,  he 

09 


REDEMPTION  A  SOCIAL  OBLIGATION 

can  be  given  a  wide  range  of  choice  in  electing  for 
training  a  new  occupation. 

The  man  returning  with  a  weakened  heart  obvi- 
ously cannot  resume  an  occupation  that  will  sub- 
ject him  to  violent  physical  strains,  but  a  wide  range 
of'other  occupations  in  which  no  dangerous  physical 
exertion  will  be  imposed  are  available  for  election  and 
training.  Innumerable  open-air  pursuits  are  avail- 
able likewise  for  those  whose  disabilities  indicate  as 
dangerous  close  and  continuous  confinement  in  factory 
or  workshop. 

It  is  not  intended  to  suggest  that  all  cases  of  dis- 
ability will  present  simple  problems.  The  man  who 
has  lost  a  hand  or  arm,  especially  a  right  hand  or 
arm,  clearly  presents  a  much  more  difficult  problem 
in  restoration  than  many  other  types  of  disability. 
In  some  cases  an  artificial  member  can  be  provided 
which  will  largely  overcome,  in  the  given  case,  the 
man's  special  handicap  in  his  former  occupation,  a 
work  hand  or  arm  to  be  worn  in  the  shop  or  in  the 
field.  But  in  every  such  instance  the  problem  of 
training  and  placement  will  still  require  most  care- 
ful and  persistent  attention. 

Fortunately,  it  is  precisely  the  case  of  the  man  who 
has  lost  a  hand  or  an  arm  or  both  hands  or  arms  that 
has  especially  enlisted  the  interest  of  experts.  In 
his  behalf  ingenious  devices  in  the  way  of  artificial 
members  adapted  to  use  in  various  occupations  have 
been  perfected,  and  to  the  solution  of  this  most  diffi- 
cult problem  in  restoration  countless  experts  are  un- 
tiringly devoted.  In  the  work  of  vocational  rehabili- 
tation for  the  armless  and  handless,  the  vocational 
expert  can  render  service  of  inestimable  value  to  the 

23 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

man  so  disabled.  In  his  case  also,  as  in  other  cases, 
the  disability  Is  special,  not  total,  and  it  can  be 
mitigated  by  scientific  treatment  and  expert  service 
in  training  for  work. 

Total  disability  is  the  rarest  accident  in  the  war. 
The  man  who  escapes  death  in  the  devastation  of  the 
trenches,  in  nearly  every  instance  and  however 
seriously  disabled,  will  be  a  human  being  full  of 
potential  capacities  for  work.  Certain  pursuits, 
among  which  may  or  may  not  be  numbered  his  former 
occupation,  will  be  closed  to  him.  His  range  of 
choice  among  pursuits  may  be  wide  or  narrow,  but 
in  some  employment,  if  it  is  chosen  wisely  and  if  he 
is  trained  intelligently,  he  can  become  100  per  cent, 
efficient.  The  obligation  rests  clearly  upon  society 
to  make  him  so. 

Again,  it  has  been  amply  demonstrated  that  the 
process  of  restoration,  if  it  is  to  achieve  the  fullest 
measure  of  success,  must  be  initiated  early  in  the 
period  of  convalescence,  and  must  be  continuous  and 
uninterrupted,  sustaining  the  man  with  the  inspira- 
tion of  hope  at  every  moment  in  his  progress  back 
from  the  front-line  first-aid  station,  through  the  base 
and  convalescent  hospitals,  on  board  the  transport 
that  brings  him  home  overseas,  and  during  hospital 
convalescence  after  his  return,  until  his  restoration, 
physical,  functional  and  vocational,  is  completed  and 
he  is  fully  established  in  a  suitable  employmen^ 
Even  then  it  will  remain  to  insure  his  permanent 
success  in  the  occupation  upon  which  he  has  entered, 
and  to  safeguard  him  from  victimization  in  case  he 
falls  into  the  hands  of  unscrupulous  employers  or  in 

24 


REDEMPTION  A  SOCIAL  OBLIGATION 

case   he    develops    unsuspected    disabilities    for    the 
employment  chosen. 

The  first  days  of  recovery  from  the  shock  of  cruel 
injuries,  after  the  excitement  of  action  has  subsided, 
are  days  of  despondency,  or  may  be  so  if  the  man  is 
left  to  brood  over  his  condition,  suffering  the  while 
the  pains  immediately  incident  to  surgical  and  medi- 
cal treatment.  In  this  critical  period  every  effort 
should  be  made  to  inform  and  inspire  him.  He 
should  be  told  of  the  provision  made  for  his  complete 
restoration,  and  its  realization  should  be  initiated  at 
the  earliest  moment  possible. 

Needless  to  say,  during  the  whole  period  of  con- 
valescence the  man's  recovery  will  dominate  every 
other  interest,  but  it  has  been  found  that  recovery 
itself  can  be  facilitated^  even  in  the  early  stages  of 
collvafesc'ence,  by  th"e~~  IherSpy^of  work.  This  therapy 
is  a  logical  development  of  the  universally  employed 
therapies  of  massage,  of  passive  and  of  active  muscu- 
lar exercises  of  parts,  and  of  bedside  and  curative- 
workshop  occupations.  Occupational  or  vocational 
therapy  introduces  the  wonderfully  curative  anti- 
toxin to  hospitalization.  The  patient  feels  the  in-\ 
spiration  of  the  appeal  to  begin  his  training  for  ; 
future  usefulness,  and  he  responds  to  that  appeal 
eagerly.  Under  this  inspiration  the  torn  muscles  and  I 
nerves  unconsciously  resume  their  normal  functions, 
and,  in  many  cases  at  least,  much  more  rapidly  than 
they  would  under  any  purely  therapeutic  treatment, 
provided  always  that  the  physician  is  at  hand  to  in- 
sure complete  cure  and  to  check  dangerous  experi- 
ments with  work.  — "- 

Treatment  will  merge  into  training  during  con- 
25 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

valescence,  and  after  convalescence  training  will 
merge  into  work.  The  patient  will  not  be  subjected 
to  the  demoralizing  influences  of  idleness  during  pro- 
tracted periods  of  convalescence.  As  his  recovery 
progresses,  he  will  be  given  an  employment  he  may 
safely  undertake  and  such  employment  only  as  will 
facilitate  his  cure.  When  his  active  treatment  has 
reached  finality,  his  vocational  training  will  be  con- 
tinued also  to  finality,  and  he  will  then  be  established 
as  a  productive  worker  in  the  community. 

Strictly  vocational  training  may  be  given  in  some 
existing  technical  school  or  in  some  special  school 
established  by  the  Government,  in  a  workshop  or 
office  or  on  a  farm  under  some  agreement  with  em- 
ployers regarding  training,  wages,  hours,  and  em- 
ployment after  training,  or  in  any  other  way  that 
may  seem  best  on  consideration  of  the  individual 
case.  But  the  whole  process-  of  restoration  must  be 
continuous  and  uninterrupted.  No  period  of  aban- 
donment or  idleness  during  or  after  treatment  must 
intervene,  for  reclamation  of  the  man  who  has  lost 
ambition  to  work  is  much  more  difficult  than  the 
restoration  of  the  physically  disabled. 

And  if  the  disabled  man  rejects  the  proffer  of 
restoration  to  vocational  competency,  shall  he  be  com- 
pelled for  his  own  welfare  to  take  it,  or  shall  he  be 
let  go,  freely,  "on  his  own"?  \  The  answer  is  that 
training  under  compulsion,  more  especially,  training 
under  military  discipline,  cannot  be  enforced,  even  if 
it  were  desirable,  as  it  is  not,  that  it  should  be  under- 
taken. |)  Men  who  cannot  be  brought  to  realize  its 
value  will  be  released,  but  the  door  will  be  held  open 

26 


REDEMPTION  A  SOCIAL  OBLIGATION 

for  their  return  after  they  have  encountered  the 
opinion  of  the  public  and  of  their  families.  They 
may  return  at  any  future  date  for  the  purpose  of 
taking  such  training  as  may  be  approved  for  them 
and  by  them.  Training  under  compulsion,  if  it  is 
ever  wise,  is  inconceivable  for  these  men  of  mature 
years.  They  must  enter  into  training  freely,  of  their 
own  election,  and  it  is  just  this  condition  of  success- 
ful rehabilitation  work  that  makes  it  vitally  essential 
that  the  disabled  be  fairly  informed  during  con- 
valescence of  every  opportunity  open  to  them,  and 
of  the  achievements  of  their  fellows  who  have 
triumphed  over  every  sort  of  disability. 

It  may  be  conceded  that  some  men  will  elect  un- 
wisely, that  some  will  neglect  their  opportunities  to 
their  own  detriment,  and  that  some  may  sink  into 
nerveless  dependency.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  it 
may  be  anticipated  confidently  that  a  great  ma- 
jority will  elect  wisely,  and  it  is  a  fact  which  cannot 
be  avoided  that  compulsion,  where  any  attempt  has 
been  made  to  enforce  it,  except  under  very  excep- 
tional conditions  which  will  be  noted  later,  has  failed. 
The  process  of  "civilization"  must  be  divested  of 
every  aspect  of  militarization.  The  training  for  civil 
employment  must  be  presented  as  an  opportunity,  not 
enforced  as  a  military  service.  The  process  of  mak- 
ing a  civilian  out  of  a  soldier  must  be  under  civilian 
control,  even  as  the  process  of  making  a  soldier  out 
of  a  civilian  must  be  under  military  control. 

At  this  stage  in  educational  progress  it  is  quite 
unnecessary  to  undertake  any  general  defense  of 
vocational  education.  Vocational  training  has  estab- 

27 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

lislied  itself  in  our  educational  system.  It  has  won 
over  to  its  support  a  large  proportion  even  of  con- 
servative educators  and  school  men,  who,  in  its  initial 
stages,  regarded  it  with  misgivings  and  suspicion.  It 
has  won  out  with  the  rank  and  file  of  labor  and  with 
labor  organizations,  which  also  have  regarded  it  in 
the  past  with  some  suspicion.  It  has  won  out  with 
employers,  and,  finally,  it  has  won  out  with  the 
public  as  a  whole,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that 
Congress  has  appropriated  large  sums  of  money  to 
be  expended  from  year  to  year  for  the  promotion  of 
vocational  education  in  the  public  schools. 

That  which  has  been  provided  out  of  public  funds 
for  the  normal  worker,  to  whom  the  Government  is 
under  no  especial  obligation,  certainly  cannot  be  de- 
nied to  the  disabled  soldier  or  sailor,  whose  disability 
constitutes  a  very  special  claim  which  cannot  be 
avoided.  The  duty  resting  upon  the  whole  com- 
munity, a  duty  which  will  be  eagerly  performed  pro- 
vided it  is  once  clearly  comprehended  as  a  duty,  is  to 
"see  the  disabled  man  all  the  way  back  to  his  pre-war 
civil  status."  This  policy  of  complete  restoration  is 
dictated  by  every  consideration  of  simple  equity.  It 
is  a  policy  of  conservation  directed  against  the  human 
wastage  and  devastation  of  war,  a  natural,  enlight- 
ened, human  reaction  against  that  wastage.  And 
incidentally,  as  compared  with  the  policy  of  maintain- 
ing the  disabled  man  in  a  condition  of  idle  de- 
pendency, or  of  abandoning  him  to  drift  into  mendi- 
cant pursuits  or  into  a  charitable  institution  as  a 
ward  of  the  state  or  of  private  charity,  the  policy  of 
complete  restoration  is  the  policy  which  costs  the 
community  least.  Above  all,  it  is  the  policy  which 

28 


REDEMPTION  A  SOCIAL  OBLIGATION 

will  establish  the  disabled  man  as  a  self-respecting, 
self -sufficient,  independent  citizen  among  fellow 
citizens. 

Compensation  will  be  given  to  all  according  to  their 
disabilities,  but  the  new  conception  of  the  commun- 
ity's duty  embraces  much  more  than  the  payment  of 
pensions.  It  embraces  complete  restoration,  or 
restoration  as  nearly  complete  as  can  possibly  be 
achieved  by  the  expenditure  of  public  money,  by  the 
utilization  of  every  existing  public  agency,  and  by 
the  development  of  such  new  agencies  as  may  be 
required. 


29 


CHAPTER  II 

HUMAN    WASTAGE    UNDER   THE   PENSION    SYSTEM 

The  tide  of  our  pension  expenditures  still  rising  —  Appropria- 
tion for  1918-19  a  new  high  record  —  Total  pension 
expenditures  of  nearly  five  and  one-half  billions  —  The 
pension  roll  of  soldiers  and  widows  —  The  monthly  allow- 
ances —  Inmates  of  Soldiers '  Homes  —  Pensions  inade- 
quate to  discharge  of  the  Nation 's  debt  to  its  defenders  — 
Their  welfare  insured  only  by  economic  rehabilitation  — 
Needless  wastage  of  human  capacities  the  lingering  blight 
of  previous  wars  —  The  programme  of  rehabilitation. 

In  the  rising  tide  of  pension  expenditures  in  the 
United  States,  the  ' '  crest  wave ' '  of  one  year  has  been 
speedily  overtopped  by  succeeding  crest  waves,  which 
have  continued  to  roll  in,  year  after  year,  mounting 
ever  higher  in  the  face  of  insistent  prediction  of 
subsidence  to  lower  levels.  The  tide  which  set  in 
after  the  Civil  War  has  been  steadily  making,  and 
even  after  half  a  century  it  is  doubtful  if  the  turn 
has  really  begun. 

The  following  excerpt  from  the  Congressional 
Record  of  June  19,  1918,  tells  its  own  story  of  the  last 
record-breaking  roller : 

There  being  no  objection,  the  Senate,  as  in  Committee  of 
the  Whole,  proceeded  to  consider  the  bill  [the  general 
Pension  Appropriation  bill  for  1918-19]  which  had  been 
reported  from  the  Committee  on  Pensions  with  an  amend- 
ment. 

The  amendment  was,  on  page  2,  line  1,  to  strike  out 
"  $185,000,000  "  and  insert  "  $220,000,000,"  so  as  to  make 
the  bill  read 

The  amendment  was  agreed  to. 

The  bill  was  reported  to  the  Senate  as  amended. 
30 


WASTAGE  UNDER  THE  PENSION  SYSTEM 

It  was  brought  out  in  the  few  minutes'  considera- 
tion given  to  the  amendment  that  the  new  amount 
was  higher  by  $12,000,000  than  the  pension  appro- 
priation had  ever  been  before,  that  it  included  a 
deficit  for  the  preceding  year  of  $23,000,000,  but 
that  even  without  this  deficit  it  was  still  the  highest 
in  the  history  of  the  Government.  Doubt  was  ex- 
pressed as  to  whether  there  would  ever  be  another 
general  pension  bill  for  Civil  War  veterans,  and 
it  was  stated  that  "next  year"  pensions  would  de- 
crease "at  least  15  per  cent.,  and  perhaps  20  per 
cent."  In  regard  to  these  statements  one  Senator 
commented  as  follows : 

I  do  not  think  it  will  be  the  last  general  pension  bill  for 
Civil  "War  veterans.  I  remember,  a  number  of  years  ago, 
reading  the  statement  of  President  Garfield.  He  stated 
that  when  the  pension  roll  reached  the  maximum  of 
$27,000,000  —  the  Senator  from  Ohio  corrects  me  and  says 
it  was  $35,000,000,  but  the  statement  which  I  saw  attributed 
to  him  the  sum  of  $27,000,000  —  it  would  recede,  and  that 
would  be  the  highest  crest  of  the  wave.  With  a  pension 
bill  of  $220,000,000,  it  merely  illustrates  what  a  poor 
prophet  the  great  President  Garfield  was.  It  illustrates, 
furthermore,  that  the  further  we  recede  from  the  period  of 
that  great  strife  the  larger  the  pensions  and  the  heavier  the 
drafts  made  upon  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States. 

The  amendment  was  agreed  to,  and  the  bill  as 
amended  was  read  a  third  time  and  passed.  A  little 
over  one  column  of  the  50  columns  in  which  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Senate  on  June  19  are  reported  in  the 
Record  comprehends  the  report  of  the  bill,  the  text 
of  the  bill  as  amended,  the  reported  discussion  on  the 
amendment,  its  passage,  and  the  passage  of  the  bill. 
Pension  appropriations  have  become  more  or  less 

31 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

routine  and  the  passage  of  such  legislation  through 
Congress  can  be  expedited. 

Disbursements  for  pensions  in  the  period  of  52 
years  (1866-1917)  since  the  close  of  the  Civil  War 
have  totaled  over  five  billions,  approximately,  $5,- 
119,000,000,  to  which  must  be  added  $133,000,000  to 
cover  the  cost  of  maintenance  of  the  pension  system, 
making  a  grand  total  of  $5,252,000,000.  With  the 
appropriation  for  1918-19  the  amount  is  approxi- 
mately five  and  one-half  billions.  The  total  amount 
paid  in  pensions  from  1790  to  1917  is  $5,216,000,000. 
Of  this  amount  $70,000,000  represents  the  Revolu- 
tionary War;  $46,000,000,  the  War  of  1812;  $14,- 
000,000,  Indian  wars;  $51,000,000,  the  war  with 
Mexico;  $58,000,000,  the  war  with  Spain  and  in  the 
Philippines;  $59,000,000,  the  regular  establishment 
and  unclassified;  and  $4,917,000,000,  the  Civil  War. 

With  a  few  years  of  inconsiderable  temporary  re- 
cessions, the  number  of  pensioners  on  the  rolls 
increased  from  126,732  in  1866  to  999,446,  or  prac- 
tically one  million,  in  1902.  In  succeeding  years  the 
number  fell  off  to  673,111  in  1917.  In  this  latter 
year  expenditure  for  field  and  special  examinations 
amounted  to  $79,503,  and  for  fees  and  expenses  of 
examining  surgeons  to  $35,627. 

Among  the  "interesting  facts"  reported  by  the 
Commissioner  of  Pensions  for  the  year  ending  June 
30,  1917,  are  the  following : 

Civil  War  soldiers  on  the  roll,  June  30 329,226 

Civil  War  widows  on  the  roll,  June  30 284,216 

The  largest  number  of  Civil  War  soldiers  on  the 

roll  was  in  1898 745,822 

32 


WASTAGE  UNDER  THE  PENSION  SYSTEM 

The  largest  number  of  Civil  War  widows  on  the 

roll  was  in  1912 304,373 

Employees  of  the  Bureau  of  Pensions  at  begin- 
ning of  fiscal  year  1917-1918 1,115 

Amount  of  fees  paid  lo  attorneys,  1917 $100,554 

An  Act  of  1916,  among  other  provisions,  provided  a 
pension  for  any  widow  who  had  married  a  soldier  or 
sailor  with  the  requisite  service  record  prior  to  June 
27,  1905,  extending  the  former  date  limit  15  years, 
from  June  27,  1890.  Under  this  Act,  to  June  30, 
1917,  6,147  original  pensions  had  been  granted  to 
widows  who  had  married  soldiers  in  the  years  1890 
to  1905. 

In  the  year  ended  June  30,  1917,  the  Mail  and 
Supplies  Division  of  the  Pension  Bureau  received 
117,552  applications  of  all  kinds,  of  which  98,759 
were  accepted  and  classified  as  formal  applications. 
Most  of  these,  of  course,  were  applications  for  in- 
creases under  the  various  laws  of  Congress,  but  dur- 
ing the  fiscal  year  ended  June  30,  1917,  original  first 
payments  were  made  to  299  Civil  War  veterans  under 
Acts  of  1907  and  1912,  and  to  16,915  Civil  War 
widows  under  Acts  of  1908  and  1916.  Under  these 
Acts  cases  of  first  payment  of  increases  and  reissue 
in  the  course  of  the  year  numbered  48,641  to  veterans 
and  113,114  to  widows.  Exclusive  of  those  of  the 
war  with  Spain,  original  claims  to  pensions  have  been 
allowed  since  March  4,  1861,  to  the  number  of 
1,180,164. 

During  the  fiscal  year  1917-18,  25  omnibus  pension 
bills  were  passed  by  Congress,  granting  pensions  or 
increases  of  pensions  in  4,178  individual  cases.  This 
special  pension  legislation,  of  course,  deals  with  cases 

33 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

for  which  grants  or  increase  of  grants  are  not  pro- 
vided by  the  general  laws. 

The  average  annual  value  of  Civil  "War  pensions 
in  1916-17  was  $247.71,  or  $20.64  per  month.  The 
number  running  at  $20  was  171,574,  and  the  num- 
ber running  at  lower  amounts,  ranging  from  $6  to 
$19.75,  was  206,832,  including  133,642  running  at 
$12.  Larger  pensions  included  228,424  running  at 
amounts  ranging  from  $20.36  to  $30,  and  approxi- 
mately 5,000  at  higher  amounts. 

An  Act  of  June  10,  1918,  amending  the  pension 
laws  of  the  United  States,  raised  pensions  to  Civil 
War  veterans,  paid  under  the  Act  of  May  11,  1912, 
and  running  at  amounts  of  less  than  $30  per  month, 
to  $30  for  soldiers  and  sailors  of  any  age  who  had 
served  90  days  or  more  during  the  Civil  War ;  to  $32 
per  month  for  those  aged  72  and  over  who  had  served 
six  months;  to  $35  for  those  who  had  served  one 
year ;  to  $38  for  those  who  had  served  one  and  one-half 
years ;  and  to  $40  for  those  who  had  served  two  years 
or  more.  These  automatic  increases  are  granted 
without  application  to  veterans  receiving  pensions 
under  the  Act  of  May  11, 1912.  Others  eligible  under 
this  Act  must  qualify  by  application.  Approxi- 
mately 268,000  veterans  will  receive  pensions  or  in- 
creases under  the  new  Act. 

Finally,  it  is  reported  by  the  Commissioner  of 
Pensions  that  the  number  of  inmates  of  the  United 
States  Soldiers'  Home,  St.  Elizabeth's  Hospital,  and 
the  various  branches  of  the  National  Home  for  Dis- 
abled Volunteer  Soldiers  was  17,973  in  the  last  quar- 
ter of  the  fiscal  year  ended  June  30,  1917. 

In  so  far  as  the  vast  sums  disbursed  in  pensions 
34 


WASTAGE  UNDER  THE  PENSION  SYSTEM 

have  insured  the  welfare  of  our  war  veterans  in  the 
past,  the  expenditure  may  be  justified.  Men  dis- 
abled in  the  war  just  ended  also  will  be  fairly  entitled 
to  compensation  for  disabilities  incurred  in  the 
National  service.  In  every  war  this  lingering  cost 
must  in  all  fairness  be  paid  in  full,  and  the  com- 
munity most  certainly  will  not  seek  to  avoid  it.  In 
providing  for  disabled  veterans  of  the  Great  War 
the  ruling  consideration  will  be,  not  economy,  but 
insurance  of  welfare.  No  expenditure,  however 
great,  provided  it  confers  benefits  upon  the  deserv- 
ing, will  measure  the  community's  obligation  to  its 
defenders.  But  pensions  are  not  the  chief  means  of 
insuring  the  veterans'  welfare.  Disabilities  cannot 
be  commuted  into  money  payments.  No  compensa- 
tion or  pension  under  any  schedule,  however  liberal, 
can  be  regarded  as  payment  in  full.  It  is  at  best  a 
pitiful  recompense  for  the  loss  of  a  leg  or  an  arm 
or  an  eye,  or  the  impairment  of  some  vital  function 
by  disease.  Something  more  is  clearly  required, 
namely,  such  training  and  placement  in  industry  as 
will  largely  eliminate  the  handicap  of  the  disability 
which  cannot  be  paid  for  or  completely  remedied. 

Confronted  with  our  pension  record,  one  cannot 
conclude  that  our  veterans  of  previous  wars  have  been 
overpaid  for  their  services  or  that  too  ample  incomes 
have  been  provided  for  deserving  dependents.  An 
income  of  $20  a  month  obviously  has  been  quite  in- 
adequate to  maintain  a  decent  standard  of  living,  and 
even  $30,  the  maximum  amount  for  the  great  mass 
of  our  pensioners  even  under  the  recent  Act  of  June 
10,  1918,  will  not  maintain  a  standard  approaching 
that  of  the  humblest  of  our  unskilled  laborers.  And 

35 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

what  shall  be  said  of  the  133,000  pensions  that  have 
been  running  at  $12  a  month  ? 

It  will  hardly  be  maintained  that  the  pensions 
ranging  from  $6  to  $30,  as  they  have  been  designated 
in  individual  cases,  have  measured  exactly,  or  even 
approximately,  the  individual  disabilities  incurred 
directly  in  war  service  or  indirectly  in  consequence 
of  such  service,  or  even  that  they  have  been  so  ad- 
justed to  present  wage-earning  power  under  any  Acts 
of  Congress  as  to  insure  decent  standards  of  living. 
They  measure  rather  simply  the  liberality  of  Con- 
gress, dispensed  under  general  and  special  legislation. 
Such  consideration  as  has  been  given  to  individual 
cases  has  regarded  the  individual's  need  rather  than 
his  capabilities.  Congress  has  undertaken  to  pro- 
vide for  these  needs,  has  appropriated  vast  sums  for 
the  purpose,  but  the  needs  have  persisted  and  have 
developed  cumulatively  from  year  to  year.  It  is  at 
least  open  to  question  whether  the  needs  have  not 
developed  more  or  less  directly  as  a  reaction  upon 
the  pension  system  itself,  and  leaving  out  of  account 
the  undeserving  cases,  it  is  quite  conceivable  that 
many  a  worthy  veteran  would  have  fared  better  if  he 
had  been  thrown  entirely  upon  his  own  resources. 
Certainly  he  would  have  fared  better  if  the  Govern- 
ment, instead  of  resorting  to  the  easy  palliative  of  a 
pension  grant,  had  undertaken  to  develop  his  capaci- 
ties for  self-support,  and  had  retrained  him  and 
placed  him  in  the  way  of  earning  a  livelihood  in: me- 
diately upon  his  discharge  from  the  service  and  before 
any  habits  of  hopeless  dependency  had  become  fixed. 
Such  a  programme  also  undoubtedly  would  have 
avoided  a  large  portion  of  the  financial  burden  which 

36 


WASTAGE  UNDEE  THE  PENSION  SYSTEM 

has  cumulated  in  the  deferred  granting  of  pensions, 
and  the  whole  cost  of  providing  for  our  Civil  War 
veterans  would  have  been  much  less  than  it  has  been 
in  fact. 

It  is  precisely  this  wastage  of  human  capacities  for 
self-support  and  for  living  a  normal,  happy  life  that 
has  constituted  the  real  wastage  of  our  wars.  Pen- 
sions do  not  and  cannot  in  any  degree  measure  this 
wastage,  nor  can  they  neutralize  it,  since  it  is  absolute 
and  final.  The  pension,  if  it  is  fairly  determined, 
simply  assesses  a  portion  of  the  loss  upon  the  com- 
munity as  a  whole,  by  making  some  scant  provision 
for  the  disabled  man,  commuting  some  portion  of  his 
disability  into  a  money  compensation,  instead  of 
removing  and  eliminating  the  disability  itself.  So 
long  as  the  disability  persists,  the  wastage  is  cumu- 
lative from  year  to  year  for  the  veteran  and  for  the 
community,  and  as  mortality  gradually  reduces  the 
roll  of  pensioners,  the  community  must  write  off  as 
absolute  and  irreclaimable  losses  the  cumulated 
wastage  of  lives  which,  although  they  have  been  capa- 
ble of  rendering  every  useful  service,  have  been  never- 
theless dragged  on  in  avoidable  indigence. 

This  wastage  cannot  be  measured,  even  for  the  indi- 
vidual whose  full  record  as  a  pensioner  in  the  com- 
munity is  opened  up  for  analysis  and  estimate.  For 
the  individual,  the  loss  of  capacity,  the  gradual  sub- 
sidence into  dependency  and  the  dissolution  of  am- 
bition which  inevitably  result  from  the  experience  of 
charity  in  place  of  stimulation  of  effort  to  become 
self-sufficient  —  this  wastage  of  all  the  potentialities 
of  a  happy,  normal  life  transcends  measurement. 
For  the  community  in  a  much  greater  degree  the  loss 

37 


[REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

of  potential  usefulness  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
its  citizenry  over  a  long  period  is  a  loss  the  aggregate 
value  of  which  transcends  every  scale  of  measurement. 
These  potentialities  are  altogether  too  complex  to  be 
simply  summed  up.  The  wastage  is  a  mortal  blight, 
a  protracted  mortality,  to  which  its  victims  succumb, 
not  on  the  battlefield  or  in  the  base  hospital,  but  only 
after  years  of  increasing  indigence. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  the  programme  of  rehabilita- 
tion, as  that  programme  has  been  formulated  in  the 
belligerent  countries  of  Europe  and  America,  to  avoid 
this  lingering  blight  of  war,  the  incalculable  wastage 
of  capacities  for  welfare,  independence  and  happi- 
ness which  in  other  wars  has  been  added  to  the  un- 
avoidable sacrifice  of  lives  on  the  battlefield;  to  re- 
gard, not  merely  the  needs  of  the  disabled,  but  rather 
chiefly  his  unimpaired  capacities  for  usefulness ;  and 
to  train  and  develop  those  capacities  so  as  to  insure 
reentrance  into  civil  life  under  conditions  that  will 
inspire  in  the  disabled  man  well  grounded  confidence 
that  he  can  "carry  on"  to  the  end  for  himself,  for 
those  dependent  upon  him,  and  for  the  country  which 
summoned  him  to  its  defense  against  the  onslaught  of 
barbarism. 


38 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  NATION 'S  DUTY  TOWARD  THE  INDIVIDUAL 

Individual  self-respect  a  national  asset  —  Charity  the  old  con- 
ception of  national  duty  toward  the  disabled  of  war  — 
Evil  effects  of  the  pension  system  —  Restoration  and 
restitution  the  new  conception  of  the  Nation 's  duty  — 
The  Nation  the  soldier's  debtor  —  Disability  compensa- 
tion —  Vocational  reeducation  of  the  disabled. 

f  Perhaps  the  most  universal  trait  of  human  nature 
is  the  sense  of  individuality,  independence,  and  con- 
sequent pride  in  the  possession  of  either  faculties, 
abilities,  or  propertyA  ' '  A  poor  virgin,  an  ill-favored 
thing,  sir,  but  mine  own,"  Shakespeare  makes 
Touchstone  say  of  the  wench  Audrey,  as  illustrative 
^f  this  spirit. 

It  is  egoism  which  is  responsible  for  the  advance- 
•  ment  of  individuals.  Where  individuals  are  offered 
the  greatest  advantages  and  the  least  obstacles,  they 
naturally  develop  into  a  self -respecting,  self-support- 
ing, home-owning  community,  j  Such  communities 
collectively  constitute  the  states,  as  the  aggregation  of 
states  constitutes  the  national  entity. 

This  egoism  has  many  healthy  manifestations,  but 
none  more  so  than  the  individual's  sturdy  belief  in 
his  potential  capacity  for  equality  with  other  men,  or 
for  superiority  where  it  can  be  attained  by  skill  in  a 
trade,  ability  in  a  profession,  success  in  business,  or 
the  like.  The  desire  for  possession  and  position  is 
but  another  manifestation  of  it,  and  the  spirits  of 
emulation,  competition,  and  leadership  are  similarly 

39 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

grounded.  The  logical  sequence  is  community  pride 
and  civic  spirit  as  the  collective  reflection  of  indi- 
vidual aspirations  and  achievement. 

Such  a  spirit  wise  Governments  foster,  for  its 
growth  is  into  national  consciousness,  love  of  country, 
and  readiness  for  service  for  the  public  good  in  peace 
as  well  as  in  war.  It  is  the  spirit  that,  convinced 
of  the  righteousness  of  national  aims  and  aspirations, 
leaps  forward  to  maintain  them  even  by  charging  the 
cannon 's  mouth. 

Every  man  who  is  independent,  therefore,  is  a  self- 
respecting  man,  self-confident  and  secure  in  his  right 
of  road  toward  the  attainment  of  his  own  individual 
development.  In  this  respect  he  is  a  pillar  of 
strength  in  his  own  community,  not  only  in  his  own 
individual  capacity,  but  no  less  so  as  an  example  and 
stimulus  to  others.  So  long  as  he  has  the  right  to 
hope,  the  incentive  to  strive,  and  belief  in  his  ability 
to  attain  at  least  a  measure  of  his  aspiration,  he  is  a 
valuable  citizen. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  a  man  is  bereft  of  pride,  made 
to  feel  inferior  to  his  fellows,  kept  conscious  at  all 
times  that  he  is  of  markedly  less  value  and  standing 
than  others,  either  economically  or  socially,  he  is  in 
precisely  the  same  relative  position  in  his  community 
as  a  broken  thread  in  the  warp  of  a  fabric.  The 
broken  thread  lessens  the  value  of  the  whole  piece 
intrinsically,  as  it  lessens  its  strength  and  wearing 
quality,  and  it  is  a  defective  community  that  main- 
tains as  an  integral  part  individuals  who  occupy  the 
position  of  the  broken  thread  in  the  cloth. 
I  If  the  feeling  of  inferiority  is  fixed  upon  the  man 
1  by  public  action  that  recognizes  and  brands  him  as 

40 


THE  NATION'S  DUTY 

inferior,  the  state  of  affairs  is  abnormal  and  un- 
healthy not  only  -for  the  man,  but  for  the  community 
that  acquiesces  in  a  situation  which  ought  not  to  be 
permitted.  )  The  direct  evil  is  by  no  means  limited  to 
the  man  himself.  His  family  is  touched  by  it,  and 
made  to  feel  that  they  are  participants  in  the  low 
and  inferior  status  of  father  or  brother,  tolerated  on 
sufferance  rather  than  considered  in  full  fellowship  of 
responsibility  and  of  opportunity. 

Among  the  several  causes  of  the  condemnation  of 
individuals  to  positions  of  inferiority,  misdirected 
charity  is  chief.  Individuals  have  been  guilty  of  it, 
and  communities,  states,  and  finally,  the  greatest 
offender  of  all,  the  Nation  itself.  The  traditional 
national  policy  of  war  pensions,  which  has  worked 
incalculable  harm,  is  revealed,  in  the  light  of  recent 
developments,  as  a  ghastly  mistake. 

It  may  freely  be  conceded  that  the  Nation  and  the 
several  states  have  been  doing  what  they  thought  was 
right.  Indeed,  there  appeared,  perhaps,  nothing  else 
to  do.  In  all  the  tide  of  time  the  course  of  nations 
has  been  to  dismiss  the  fighting  man  when  he  became 
disabled  and  of  no  more  use  as  an  offensive  or  defen- 
sive unit.  No  one  seemed  to  think  of  anything  else 
for  him  except  a  pittance  of  a  pension,  invariably 
calculated  only  to  prevent  actual  starvation.  America 
alone  went  farther,  and  established  Soldiers'  Homes 
for  the  helplessly  disabled,  or  at  least  for  those  who 
had  no  relatives  upon  whom  the  main  burden  of  car- 
ing for  these  wards  of  the  public  could  be  saddled. 
Then  we  rather  preened  ourselves  upon  our  generosity. 

The  public  attitude  had  its  reflection  first  in  the 
pension  laws  —  idle  indigence  in  public  homes  for 

41 


\ 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

disabled  soldiers,  or  insufficient  pensions  and,  in  many 
instances,  equal  idleness  outside.  There  were  many 
disabled  soldiers  who  had  nothing  besides  their  pen- 
sions to  live  upon  —  unless  they  had  relations.  The 
soldier  himself,  in  many  instances,  had  a  mistaken 
notion  that  he  should  not  be  expected  to  do  anything 
toward  his  own  support.  The  public  acquiesced,  and 
he  became  a  sort  of  ward  of  the  community.  He  was 
given  sinecure  jobs  at  small  pay.  As  time  went  on, 
many  of  these  men  became  small  office  holders  and 
chronic  office  seekers.  They  were  poverty-stricken, 
and  they  and  their  families  endured  many  hardships 
on  account  of  loss  of  earning  capacity  and  insufficient 
pensions  from  the  Government. 

Net  only  did  the  maintenance  of  these  men  as 
indigent  incompetents  have  an  evil  effect  in  itself ;  it 
caused  bitterness  in  the  hearts  of  the  men  and  of 
their  dependents.  There  was  resentfulness  —  the 
feeling  that  the  Nation  had  poorly  requited  a  volun- 
tary sacrifice  for  its  good.  And  there  was  the  in- 
evitable forgetfulness  on  the  part  of  the  public  that 
their  disabilities  were  acquired  on  behalf  of  that  same 
public  which  now  regarded  the  men  merely  as  poor 
or  indigent  individuals  and  no  longer  credited  their 
account  with  a  duty  well  performed.  This  in  itself 
has  had  a  bad  effect,  for  it  has  lessened  the  national 
eagerness  for  national  service.  "Republics  are  un- 
grateful," is  a  common  remark,  and  the  illustration 
has  been  to  point  to  the  treatment  of  the  veterans  of 
our  wars  and  their  unhappy  condition. 

There  has  come  about,  however,  a  new  conception 
of  the  proper  attitude  of  the  community,  the  state, 
and,  finally,  the  Nation  toward  men  who  have  become 

42 


THE  NATION'S  DUTY 

disabled  in  the  common  defense.  It  is  a  radical 
change  from  the  old  idea  of  charity  for  men  who  had 
lost  their  economic  independence  by  reason  of  willing- 
ness to  face  the  enemy  for  the  common  good. 

The  new  and  enlightened  conception  is  that  charity 
does  not  enter  into  the  matter  at  all.  It  is  a  complete 
reversal  of  the  previous  conception.  From  the  old 
viewpoint  the  injured  man  was  held  to  be  a  poor 
mendicant,  entitled  to  some  small  recognition  from 
the  Government,  which,  although  it  was  a  thing  apart 
from,  and  over  and  above  and  beyond  him,  neverthe- 
less consented  to  bestow  a  gratuity  upon  him.  The 
position  now  is  that  it  is  the  Government  who  is  the 
debtor  and  the  injured  man  the  creditor  —  not  as 
one  apart,  but  as  a  component  unit  for  whom  too  much 
cannot  be  done.  

"With  this  new  idea  and  ideal  has  come  a  new  sense 
of  national  duty  toward  the  disabled  man.  The  obli- 
gation is  now  held  to  be  restoration  and,  as  far  as 
possible,  restitution.  The  man  was  called  from  his 
peaceful  vocation  to  serve  for  the  common  good.  His 
ability  to  support  himself  has  suffered  permanent  im- 
pairment by  reason  of  that  service  for  the  public,  and 
his  loss  is  a  debt  which  the  public,  or  the  Nation,  must 
discharge.  This  can  be  done  most  fully  by  restoring 
him,  as  far  as  possible,  to  the  condition  he  was  in  prior 
to  his  entrance  into  military  service,  or  if  it  can  be 
done  to  a  better  condition. 

He  is  given  a  "compensation  "  instead  of  a  "pen- 
sion," the  latter  term  implying  a  semi-mendicancy 
which  has  been  abolished.  The  compensation  is 
arrived  at  from  abundant  actuarial  data  showing  the 
loss  in  earning  capacity  the  average  man  suffers  from 

43 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

certain  disabilities  or  combinations  of  disabilities. 
All  men  with  similar  disabilities  fare  alike  as  regards 
disability  compensation.  In  theory,  this  compensa- 
tion is  to  equalize  the  injured  man  between  his  dis- 
abled capacity  and  what  he  would  otherwise  have 
J)een  able  to  earn.  In  fact,  it  does  not  do  so,  but 
there  was  no  other  way  to  arive  at  a  means  of  dealing 
equally  and  equitably  with  all  injured  men  except  on 
the  basis  of  averages.  To  do  otherwise  would  be  to 
reopen  the  Pandora's  box  of  evils  and  scandals  of 
private  and  partisan  pension  legislation,  from  which 
the  country  has  suffered  so  greatly  in  the  past,  and 
still  suffers,  with  a  host  of  undeserving  beneficiaries 
absorbing  millions  of  dollars  from  the  public  treasury. 
The  Government,  realizing  that  equal  treatment 
under  the  compensation  law  was  bound  to  produce 
some  measure  of  inequality  in  individual  cases,  next 
proceeded  to  furnish  the  man  himself  with  the  means 
of  counteracting  his  individual  loss  by  so  educating 
him  that  there  would  be  absolute  equality  of  oppor- 
tunity among  all  who  had  suffered  impairment  for  the 
Nation's  sake  —  in  other  words,  that  each  man  would 
be  put  in  a  position  to  utilize  to  the  utmost  the 
capabilities  remaining  to  him. 

_The  effect  of  the  combination  of  disability  com- 
pensation and  vocational  reeducation  is,  in  the  ma- 
jority of  cases,  to  restore  the  man  to  civil  life  in  a 
better  condition  as  regards  income  and  prospects  of 
progress  and  development  than  he  was  before  he 
donned  a  uniform  in  response  to  the  call  for  national 
service.  The  further  effect  is  that  there  will  be  no 
more  semi-mendicant  veterans,  exhibiting  their 
wounds  and  craving  compassion  and  help;  the  dis- 

44 


THE  NATION'S  DUTY 

abled  of  this  war  will  help  themselves.  There  will 
be  no  more  pensioned  men  in  semi-charitable  jobs; 
the  redeemed  disabled  will  be  given  regular  pay  for 
regular  and  efficient  work.  There  will  be  no  more 
burdens  on  the  communities;  for  these  men  will  pay 
their  taxes  and  bear  their  share  of  whatever  other 
burdens  the  community  may  have  to  shoulder.  True, 
these  men  may  be  minus  an  arm  or  a  leg  or  deficient 
in  health  in  one  way  or  another,  but  these  things 
will  be  merely  incidents  of  their  individual  make-up 
and  no  more  the  cause  of  economic  insufficiency  than 
the  color  of  hair  or  eyes  or  any  other  purely  personal 
characteristic. 

It  is  a  healthier  state  of  mind  for  the  communities 
and  the  Nation  to  be  in.  This  modern  conception  of 
the  Nation's  duty  to  the  individual  who  serves  it  is 
bound  to  have  its  reaction  in  a  finer  sense  of  obliga- 
tion and  responsibility  of  the  individual  generally 
toward  his  Government,  and  this  in  turn  will  serve 
as  a  basis  for  a  heightening  of  the  ideals  of  govern- 
ment. 


45 


CHAPTER  IV 

WHAT  THE  BELLIGERENT  NATIONS  HAVE  UNDERTAKEN 

The  State 's  regard  for  the  individual  enhanced  by  the  war  — 
Restoration  of  the  disabled  a  national  policy  of  all  the 
belligerents  —  Economic  value  of  the  disabled  —  Restora- 
tion policy  of  the  United  States  —  Inclusion  of  the  dis- 
abled of  industry  —  Evolution  of  a  new  social  policy  — 
Its  further  possibilities. 

Never  in  all  the  roll  of  years  has  the  individual 
citizen  been  so  much  the  object  of  regard  and  solici- 
tude on  the  part  of  his  Government  as  since  the 
Great  War  began;  nor  has  there  ever  before  been 
exhibited  such  paternal  interest  in  the  welfare  of 
workers  generally  in  all  lines,  and  particularly  in 
those  related  to  the  vast  and  complex  industry  of 
making  war.  Nations  have  awakened  suddenly  to 
the  actual  truth  of  the  saying  that  the  very  founda- 
tion stones  of  a  country  are  its  men.  Consequently 
there  has  been  a  hurried  shifting  of  position  in  every 
belligerent  nation  to  conform  national  conduct  with 
the  new  conception,  not  only  in  the  attitude  of  in- 
terest toward  its  men  before  throwing  them  into  the 
maelstrom  of  conflict,  but  also  in  the  development  of 
salvage  and  conservation  for  those  who  emerge,  even 
though  they  may  be  useless  for  the  battle  line. 

No  other  war  has  approached  this  in  magnitude  of 
requirements  of  men  for  actual  fighting  in  the  field 
or  of  material  necessary  properly  to  munition  and 
supply  them.  The  truth  early  began  to  dawn  upon 
the  Allied  peoples  that  it  was  to  be  a  struggle  to  the 

46 


WHAT   THE   NATIONS  HAVE   UNDERTAKEN 

death  for  national  existence  and  development  against 
a  crafty,  powerful  foe  who  had  emerged  from  the 
nebulae  of  nations  as  a  warring,  plundering,  aggres- 
sive, unscrupulous  tribe,  and  who  had  held  through 
its  history  the  same  ideals  ever  since  Caesar  thrashed 
Ariovistus  and  drove  his  rapacious  hordes  back 
across  the  Rhine  from  the  very  fields  from  which 
the  Allies  have  lately  ejected  descendants  of  those 
same  Teutons.  The  Allied  nations  at  last  came  to  the 
proper  conception  that  it  would  be  a  war  of  exhaus- 
tion; the  uttermost  effort  of  each  was  required,  and 
the  cause  upheld  by  the  most  resources  and  reserves 
of  industrial  strength  was  ultimately  to  triumph. 

A  movement  which  started  originally  as  a  private, 
patriotic  effort  on  the  part  of  a  few  individuals  to 
extend  charity  to  scattered  and  destitute  disabled 
soldiers  has  became  in  the  short  space  of  three  years 
the  policy  of  nations,  but  not  with  the  same  object 
in  view.  The  belligerent  nations  speedily  developed 
the  broader  and  the  correct  view,  which  is,  primarily, 
justice  to  the  disabled  man.  It  was  suddenly  found 
also  that  this  conception  coincided  with  the  best  in- 
terests of  Governments. 

The  demonstration  was  complete  and  overwhelming 
that  an  enormously  potential  reserve  of  strength  had 
previously  been  overlooked  by  the  Governments,  and 
that  their  disabled  soldiers  were  full  of  essential 
values  hitherto  unsuspected.  It  became  clear  that 
these  men  were  of  quite  as  much  use,  disabled  and 
retrained,  as  they  were  before  they  suffered  in- 
capacitating injuries,  and  in  many  instances  became 
of  more  real  value  to  the  State.  A  disabled  man 
was  able,  after  undergoing  training,  to  take  the  place 

47 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

of  an  uninjured  man  engaged  in  some  essential  phase 
of  war  industry  behind  the  lines,  thus  adding  enor- 
mously to  the  strength  of  the  nation  by  providing 
entirely  unexpected  and  unlooked-for  reserves  of 
vital  resistance.  Instead  of  being  put  out  of  action 
and  discarded  as  a  unit  of  strength  to  his  country, 
the  disabled  man  was  replaced  in  the  front  lines  by 
a  fresh,  uninjured  man,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
place  of  the  uninjured  man  behind  the  lines  was 
taken  by  the  disabled  soldier.  The  process  of  restora- 
tion multiplied  the  fighting  ability  of  the  nation. 

It  was  also  recognized  by  the  belligerents  that  by 
the  addition  of  a  considerable  body  of  men  trained  in 
trades,  industries  and  processes,  even  though  not  im- 
mediately related  to  the  business  of  making  war,  the 
industrial  life  of  the  nation  would  be  maintained  to  a 
larger  extent  than  would  otherwise  be  possible,  and 
that,  this  being  true,  at  the  conclusion  of  hostilities 
the  transition  from  a  war  to  a  peace  basis  would  be  a 
less  violent  reaction.  These  disabled  men,  made  over 
into  skilled  artisans,  mechanics  or  experts  in  the  hun- 
dreds of  other  occupations  requiring  a  trade  or  tech- 
nical education,  would  also  replace  in  large  measure 
the  loss  to  the  nation  of  men  in  those  lines  who  had 
been  killed  outright  or  died  of  wounds  or  disease. 
Thus,  by  having  its  trade,  manufacturing  and  busi- 
ness strength  reinforced  for  the  critical  period  of 
industrial  and  commercial  readjustment  at  the  end 
of  the  war,  the  nation  would  be  in  better  position  as 
regards  reconstruction  and  the  resumption  and  re- 
covery of  business  would  be  accelerated.  So  it  be- 
came apparent  that  by  the  retraining  of  the  disabled, 
every  man  thus  taught  successfully  was  transformed 

48 


WHAT   THE   NATIONS   HAVE   UNDERTAKEN 

from  a  liability  into  an  economic  asset.  Instead  of 
being  an  idle  consumer,  each  man  returned  to  earning 
ability  would  be  a  contributing  unit  to  the  national 
wealth  in  proportion  to  his  productive  capacity  —  in 
no  wise  a  dead  weight,  as  the  disabled  of  other  wars 
have  always  been  to  some  extent,  on  relatives,  com- 
munities or  the  national  purse. 

None  of  the  Allied  Governments  has  allowed  the 
vocational  reeducation  and  subsequent  restoration  to 
earning  ability  of  the  disabled  man  to  affect  in  the 
least  the  amount  of  pension  or  disability  compensa- 
tion allotted  to  the  individual.  In  the  United  States 
the  compensation  has  been  calculated  strictly  as  a 
casualty-insurance  problem,  on  the  basis  of  the  ex- 
perience of  most  of  the  accident-insurance  companies 
operating  in  the  country.  The  method  of  awarding 
disability  compensation  was  arrived  at  months  before 
provision  was  made  for  vocational  retraining,  and 
the  amount  of  compensation  or  "pension"  a  man 
receives  is  absolutely  unaffected  by  any  earning 
power  the  disabled  man  may  be  able  to  develop 
through  retraining.  The  latter  is  entirely  gratuitous, 
and  additional  to  any  monetary  compensation  for  dis- 
ability paid  by  the  Government. 

Aside  from  these  very  material  benefits  provided  by 
the  Federal  Government,  a  great  forward  stride  was 
made  in  the  new  conception  of  what  is  due  the  man 
disabled  through  service  for  his  country.  The  con- 
clusion that  restoration  as  nearly  as  possible  to  the 
status  quo  ante  'helium  is  a  matter  of  justice,  not 
charity,  marked  a  distinct  advance  in  national  ideals 
and  in  the  proper  conception  of  individual  rights. 
The  provision  of  machinery  to  carry  this  conception 

49 


EEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

into  effect  involved  a  species  of  paternalism  which 
must  have  caused  a  rapid  ''turning  movement"  in 
the  graves  of  the  earlier  statesmen  of  this  Republic 
to  whom  all  forms  of  paternalistic  government  were 
anathema.  But  just  as  benevolent  despotisms  have 
been  known,  so  has  the  United  States  Government 
become  democratically  centralized  in  order  to  carry 
out  its  programme  of  benevolent  justice  to  a  class  of 
its  citizens.  The  project  was  given  unanimous  ap- 
proval by  men  of  all  shades  of  political  thought  and 
theory ;  the  measure  providing  for  it  passed  the  Con- 
gress without  a  dissenting  vote,  and  it  has  been  rati- 
fied by  the  universal  approval  of  the  citizenry. 

This  first  step,  whereby  the  physically  disabled  by 
war  are  restored  to  civil  usefulness,  has  led  to  the 
inevitable  conclusion  that  if  the  war  disabled  are  so 
abundantly  worth  salvaging,  those  similarly  disabled 
by  the  industries  of  the  country  are  equally  so.  The 
Congress  now  has  before  it  legislation  providing  for 
the  extension  of  vocational  rehabilitation  to  the  more 
than  50,000  disabled  men  of  working  age  who  com- 
prise the  average  toll  of  our  industries  every  year. 
The  project  is  backed  by  the  Administration,  by  all 
organized  labor,  and  by  practically  the  same  unan- 
imous approval  of  the  lawmakers  that  passed  the 
original  rehabilitation  bill. 

Thus,  in  the  short  period  of  less  than  four  years, 
conservative  democracies  have  turned  into  conserv- 
ing democracies  a  change  which  probably  fifty  years 
of  slow  progress  under  peace  conditions  would 
not  have  accomplished.  The  State  has  already  be- 
come humanized  to  an  unthought-of  degree.  The 
demonstration  has  served  and  is  serving  as  a  quicken- 

50 


WHAT   THE   NATIONS  HAVE   UNDERTAKEN 

ing  impulse  all  over  the  world.  The  people  are 
learning  the  great  lesson  that  the  welfare  of  the  in- 
dividual is  no  longer  a  matter  of  indifference  to  the 
multitude  or  to  government,  but  that  that  government 
is  most  effective  which  is  most  interested  in  the  units 
composing  the  body  of  which  it  is  merely  the  repre- 
sentative. A  closer  supervision  will  be  required  in 
future  that  its  members  may  have  larger  equality  of 
opportunity,  and  restoration  of  opportunity  when  it 
has  been  lost. 

Nearly  all  of  the  belligerent  nations  have  become 
thoroughly  awake  to  the  importance  of  the  economic 
redemption  of  their  disabled;  the  more  representa- 
tive the  government  of  the  people,  the  more  effective 
these  measures  have  become  —  the  broader  scope  they 
have  taken  of  usefulness.  The  evolution  from  chance 
charity  to  private  system,  then  to  State-fostered 
activity  merely  to  utilize  again  the  disabled,  then  to 
national  policy  founded  upon  justice,  and  finally  to 
the  recognition  by  peoples  and  Governments  that  all 
disabled  are  soldiers  of  the  common  good,  whether  in 
war  or  industry,  and  are  equally  entitled  to  be  sal- 
vaged and  restored  to  opportunity  to  earn  and  work, 
is  an  amazing  development.  It  is  no  less  amazing 
in  its  further  possibilities,  which  a  very  few  years  ago 
would  have  been  scouted  and  rejected  as  impractica- 
ble and  Utopian,  but  which  today  are  considered 
gravely  as  the  next  steps  in  the  newly  blazed  trail 
through  the  wilderness  of  selfishness. 

What  may  be  the  further  extension  of  the  idea,  and 
what  may  evolve  out  of  it,  no  one  can  say,  but  it  is 
an  attractive  field  for  speculation.  As  vocational  re- 
habilitation of  the  disabled  is  largely  a  matter  of 

51 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

diagnosis  and  physical  adaptation  of  the  injured  man 
to  that  occupation  for  which  he  is  best  fitted,  and 
then  of  providing  the  means  for  training  his  remain- 
ing capabilities  to  function  to  their  full  value,  the 
possibilities  of  extending  this  system  of  diagnosis  and 
industrial  or  civic  adjustment  are  vast.  If  the 
diagnostic  and  adaptive  process  is  so  successful  with 
men  whose  disabilities  are  mainly  physical,  is  it  too 
great  a  stretch  of  the  imagination  to  vision  the  day 
when  economic  misfits  shall  be  passed  upon  by  much 
the  same  sort  of  system  ?  Is  not  a  misplaced  man  an 
economic  cripple?  What  readjustments  may  not  be 
possible  when  each  man  can  be  more  nearly  fitted 
into  the  particular  niche  in  life  in  which  he  can  work 
with  most  effect,  accomplish  most  with  greatest 
happiness,  and  be  of  greatest  value  not  only  to  him- 
self but  to  society  in  general!  With  accumulated 
experience  might  not  the  system  be  carried  further 
to  prevent  the  misfits  as  well  as  to  readjust  them  — 
to  direct  education  and  development  of  the  young 
along  the  lines  of  their  manifest  destiny,  tastes, 
talents,  inclinations  and  desires,  instead  of  following 
the  present  utterly  haphazard  method  whereby  the 
development  of  the  citizen  is  almost  entirely  a  matter 
of  chance,  environment  and  circumstance? 

No  one  can  say  where  the  system  will  lead,  but  the 
evidences  we  now  have  are  that  its  results  will  be  good 
for  humanity. 


52 


CHAPTER  V 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  RE-EDUCATION 

Probable  number  of  disabled  men  requiring  reeducation  — 
American  casualties  in  the  war  —  Experience  of  Great 
Britain  and  Canada  —  Eyesight  cases  —  Amputation  cases 
— •  Surgical  cases  a  comparatively  simple  problem  —  Medi- 
cal cases  most  complicated  and  troublesome  —  Placement 
and  supervision  of  reeducated  men  —  Placement  of  dis- 
charged men  in  their  former  occupations  —  Programme  of 
the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education. 


Statistics  from  all  available  sources,  particularly 
those  from  British  and  Canadian  experience,  give 
some  dependable  idea  as  to  the  magnitude  of  the 
problem  that  would  have  confronted  the  United  States 
in  the  reeducation  and  placement  of  its  disabled 
soldiers  and  sailors  had  hostilities  not  come  to  an 
unexpectedly  early  end.  These  figures  are  the  result 
of  about  four  years  of  warfare.  They  include  the 
casualties  of  open  or  field  activities,  trench  fighting, 
and  the  swing  back  to  open  operations  again.  They 
comprehend  about  the  whole  range  of  military  activi- 
ties as  at  present  developed,  and  they  may  be  regarded 
as  very  fairly  indicative  of  the  ratio  of  retraining 
cases  with  which  the  United  States  will  be  compelled 
to  deal. 

From  the  average  obtained  from  the  various  bel- 
ligerents, the  figures  show  that  for  every  million  men 
mobilized,  10,000  annually  will  be  subjects  for  voca- 
tional reeducation ;  that  is  to  say,  10,000  men  will  be 
BO  severely  injured  that  they  will  not  be  able  to  return 

53 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

to  their  former  callings  or  trades,  and  needs  must  be 
reeducated  by  the  Government  to  fit  them  to  make 
use  of  the  capabilities  remaining  to  them  after  passing 
through  the  hospitals  and  being  cured  as  far  as  it  is 
possible  for  medical  and  surgical  science  to  cure 
them.  This  problem  of  reeducation  should  not  be 
confounded  with  that  of  the  men  who  are  merely 
wounded.  There  will  be  thousands  of  others  who  will 
be  severely  hurt,  but  not  so  disabled  as  to  compel 
them  to  take  up  a  different  means  of  gaining  a  liveli- 
hood from  that  which  they  followed  prior  to  going 
into  the  Army. 

Not  all  of  these  casualties  are  the  direct  result  of 
actual  warfare.  "War  has  been  classed  as  "the  most 
hazardous  of  trades."  Still,  among  three  million 
people  in  the  United  States,  even  in  the  regular  and 
beaten  paths  of  ordinary  life,  there  is  normally  a 
total  of  serious  accidents  running  into  the  thousands 
every  month.  Transplant  three  million  men  into  an 
entirely  different  mode  of  living,  into  a  life  of  violent 
and  constant  action  amid  surroundings  entirely  un- 
familiar to  most  of  them,  and  even  in  the  midst  of 
profound  peace  there  would  still  be  a  large  number 
of  accidents.  Add  to  that  situation  the  constant 
handling  of  deadly  weapons  and  explosives,  the  use 
of  motor  trucks  and  the  perhaps  more  deadly  "Gov- 
ernment mule"  as  a  large  part  of  motive  power,  and  it 
will  be  seen  that  absolute  accidents  of  themselves  will 
contribute  largely  to  the  casualty  list. 

The  sudden  termination  of  hostilities,  of  course,  has 
reduced  the  magnitude  of  the  retraining  problem  very 
greatly.  General  Pershing  cabled  on  February  2, 
1919,  that  the  total  American  casualties  to  that  date 

54 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  RE-EDUCATION 

were  311,349,  including  missing  and  prisoners.     The 
figures  were : 


Killed  in  action  (including  381  at  sea). 
Died  of  wounds     .      .          

30,978 
12,904 

Died  of  disease  

18,774 

Died  of  other  causes  

2,701 

Wounded  

229,326 

Total  

294,683 

Wounded,  severely  

94,122 

Wounded,  degree  undetermined  

43,168 

Wounded,  slightly  

92,036 

Total  

229,326 

Missing  

14,290 

Prisoners  . 

2,275 

This  total  of  wounded  does  not  at  all  comprise  the 
total  of  men  who  will  be  possible  subjects  for  voca- 
tional rehabilitation.  The  months  of  occupation  of 
enemy  territory  and  police  duty  will  bring  its  in- 
evitable toll.  It  must  also  be  recalled  that  a  con- 
siderable expeditionary  force  was  operating  in  Siberia 
and  on  the  Murman  Coast  in  February,  1919. 

Dr.  Charles  A.  Prosser,  Director  of  the  Federal 
Board  for  Vocational  Education,  testifying  before  the 
Senate  Committee  on  Education  and  Labor  on  Decem- 
ber 11,  1918,  said:  "I  am  figuring  on  having  to  deal 
with,  altogether,  not  less  than  75,000  men  who  have 
been  disabled."  But  it  must  be  remembered  that 
only  about  one  per  cent,  of  the  disabled  are  so  disabled 
as  to  make  it  imperative  that  they  be  reeducated 
vocationally. 

It  must  be  kept  in  mind  also  that  the  problem 
in  reeducation  is  by  no  means  solely  that  of  the  man 
who  has  lost  a  leg  or  an  arm  or  his  sight.  Of  the 
blind  the  number  is  so  small  proportionately  as  to 

55 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

amaze,  in  view  of  the  extreme  deadliness  of  warfare 
as  it  is  now  practiced  and  the  multiplicity  of  weapons 
employed,  including  the  use  of  liquid  flame.  Out  of 
41,000  Canadians  invalided  home,  less  than  forty  had 
lost  their  sight,  and  this  is  about  a  fair  indication  of 
the  way  the  average  will  run,  week  in  and  week  out. 
Of  341,025  cases  of  pensions  granted  in  England,  only 
2.8  per  cent,  were  eyesight  cases,  and  this  figure  of 
course  includes  all  manner  of  eye  impairments  —  the 
loss  of  one  eye,  general  injury  to  vision,  and  the  like. 
The  percentage  of  Americans  blinded  is  also  astonish- 
ingly small.  In  December,  1918,  Dr.  J.  E.  Hendrick- 
son,  after  conference  with  the  Surgeon-General  of  the 
Army,  announced  that  to  that  date  the  total  of  men 
blinded  as  a  result  of  wounds,  accident,  and  otherwise 
was  only  30.  According  to  a  statement  made  on 
January  6,  1919,  by  Major  William  T.  Shoemaker, 
an  eye  specialist  who  was  in  charge  of  the  eye  depart- 
ments in  all  the  American  hospitals  in  England,  the 
total  American  blinded  during  the  war  did  not  exceed 
100  men.  Said  Major  Shoemaker : 

When  \ve  consider  the  many  casualties  of  our  troops,  it 
is  astounding  that  wounds  causing  permanent  injury  to  the 
sight  were  so  few.  Of  course,  there  were  many  cases  of 
men  losing  one  eye.  Gas  used  during  the  war  did  not 
cause  much  blindness.  It  makes  the  eyes  very  sore,  but  the 
essential  parts  were  never  impaired  from  the  use  of  gas. 

The  amputation  cases  also  are  much  less  than  five 
per  cent.  The  English  pension  records  above  men- 
tioned show  that  wounds  and  injuries  to  legs  necessi- 
tating amputation  were  only  2.6  per  cent.,  while 
wounds  necessitating  arm  amputations  ranged  still 
lower,  only  1.4  per  cent.,  these  being  the  lowest  of  all 

56 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  RE-EDUCATION 

the  traumatic  injuries,  that  is,  injuries  caused  by 
violence  applied  externally. 

In  general  terms,  of  the  10,000  injured  men  in  each 
million  who  will  need  reeducation,  it  may  be  assumed 
that  this  number  will  be  divided  almost  equally  be- 
tween the  medical  and  the  surgical  cases;  that  is  to 
say,  5,000  will  be  wards  of  the  physicians  alone,  and 
5,000  will  be  purely  surgical  cases  in  which  operations 
of  some  sort  are  involved,  not  necessarily  amputation 
or  dismemberment,  but  operations  in  which  the 
wounds  are  those  for  the  care  of  the  surgeon  rather 
than  the  physician.  Of  the  5,000  surgical  cases,  ap- 
proximately 500  will  be  cases  of  "dismemberment," 
in  which  a  limb  or  a  hand  or  a  foot  will  have  to  be 
removed.  The  average  further  shows  that  of  the  500 
amputation  cases,  there  will  be  about  300  who  will 
lose  legs  as  against  200  who  will  lose  arms.  Some- 
times the  proportion  varies,  but  these  figures  will  be 
found  fairly  to  represent  the  average. 

Some  data  from  the  Military  Orthopaadic  Hospital 
at  Toronto,  Canada,  are  interesting  and  illustrative. 
These  figures,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind,  are  from  an 
institution  which  is  strictly  an  orthopaedic  and  am- 
putation hospital  where  cases  of  this  sort  are  con- 
centrated. Up  to  and  including  May  24,  1918,  there 
had  been  1,169  amputation  cases  at  the  institution. 
Of  these,  868  were  leg  amputations,  and  301  were 
arm  amputations.  Of  the  former,  523  were  amputa- 
tions above  the  knee,  and  345  were  removals  below 
the  knee.  Of  the  arm  losses,  194  were  removed  above 
the  elbow  and  105  below.  As  a  rule,  it  will  be  found 
that  injuries  requiring  amputation  are  most  frequent 
in  the  left  arm  and  the  left  leg,  for  the  normal  posi- 

57 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

tion  in  firing  a  rifle  is  with  the  left  arm  exposed  and 
supporting  the  barrel,  while  the  breech  and  stock  give 
a  measure  of  protection  to  the  right  arm;  and  in  the 
firing  position  also  the  left  leg  is  usually  advanced, 
and  consequently  more  of  a  target  than  the  right  leg. 

The  British  pensions  statistics  also  are  of  interest 
in  this  connection.  Of  the  341,025  pensions  awarded 
up  to  April  30,  1918,  the  percentage  of  injuries  ran : 
eyesight  cases,  2.3 ;  wounds  and  injuries  to  legs  neces- 
sitating amputation,  1.4;  to  legs,  not  necessitating 
amputation,  11.9 ;  to  arms,  not  necessitating  amputa- 
tion, 8.45;  to  hands,  not  necessitating  amputation, 
4.45;  wounds  and  injuries  to  head,  4.0;  hernia,  8.0; 
miscellaneous  wounds  and  injuries,  5.55;  chest  com- 
plaints and  tuberculosis,  11.60  (highest  percentage  of 
any  of  the  injuries  and  complaints  listed)  ;  rheu- 
matism, 6.5;  insanity,  0.75;  deafness,  2.0;  frostbite, 
including  cases  of  amputation  of  feet  or  legs,  0.9 ; 
miscellaneous  diseases  and  causes,  18.36. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  problem  is  by  no 
means  that  of  the  cripple  alone.  It  is  more  the 
problem  of  the  man  with  a  complication  of  troubles, 
and  it  will  be  seen  that  the  cripples  comprise  a  small 
percentage  of  the  surgical  cases.  For  instance,  a  man 
may  have  a  piece  of  the  muscle  of  his  arm  or  leg  shot 
away  which  will  cause  him  to  lose  the  active  use  of 
that  member,  and  he  is  effectively  debarred  in  many 
instances  from  pursuing  his  former  calling  on  that 
account.  The  wide  range  of  these  possible  injuries 
is  amazing.  These  strictly  surgical  cases  are  the 
simplest  of  all,  both  for  the  hospital  authorities,  and 
in  regard  to  placement  and  reeducation,  for  while  the 
possibilities  and  the  impossibilities  of  a  dismembered 

58 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  RE-EDUCATION 

man,  or  a  man  who  has  become  defective  in  arms  or 
legs,  are  comparatively  easy  of  disposition  into  a  well 
defined  list  of  employments  which  are  suitable  or  not 
suitable,  the  medical  cases  do  not  admit  of  any  such 
easy  classification. 

These  may  run  the  whole  gamut  of  organic  trou- 
bles, both  singly  and  in  an  amazing  number  of  com- 
plications. A  man  may  have  been  gassed  and  his 
lungs  and  heart  impaired ;  he  may  be  suffering  from 
a  shattered  nervous  system  as  a  result  of  shell  shock, 
and  at  the  same  time  be  extremely  subject  to  rheu- 
matism. In  his  case,  it  will  be  seen,  the  determina- 
tion of  an  occupation  which  will  not  require  heavy 
lifting  and  thus  put  strain  on  heart  or  lungs,  which 
will  not  subject  him  to  noise  or  irritating  disturbances, 
and  which  will  not  place  him  where  damp  or  cold 
will  affect  his  rheumatism,  is  something  of  a  compli- 
cated and  puzzling  problem. 

The  determination  of  what  manual  work  can  be 
arranged  for  a  one-armed  man  is  an  easy  task.  Many 
of  them  will  not  require  reeducation.  It  is  perfectly 
patent  that  a  lawyer  will  not  have  to  study  another 
profession  because  he  has  lost  an  arm,  but  a  dentist,  a 
paperhanger,  a  riveter  or  boilermaker,  or  a  painter 
is  obliged  to.  A  farm  laborer  who  has  lost  a  leg  in 
most  cases  must  be  reeducated,  and  so  must  many 
men  in  mechanical  lines.  But  these  questions  are 
resolved  without  any  great  difficulty.  It  is  the 
medical  cases  that  give  the  most  concern,  and  em- 
phasize the  fact  that  in  the  last  analysis  the  problem 
of  reeducation  is  an  individual  problem.  Medical 
men  are  called  in  to  say  what  the  man  should  not  be 
allowed  to  do.  They  indicate  that  no  strain  should 

59 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

be  put  on  a  man  with  a  weak  heart,  or  that  a  mau 
who  is  subject  to  epilepsy  should  not  be  allowed  near 
rapidly  moving  and  dangerous  machinery,  or  that  a 
rheumatic  should  be  given  a  sheltered  occupation. 
Then  comes  the  task  of  finding  something  within  the 
lines  laid  down  by  the  medical  and  surgical  author- 
ities that  will  appeal  to  and  interest  the  man  him- 
self, for  it  is  vital  that  the  subject  should  concur 
heartily  and  be  really  interested  in  the  work  sug- 
gested for  him,  otherwise  it  is  useless  to  attempt  to 
train  him  or  to  expect  him  to  make  progress  in  a  new 
occupation. 

Efforts  have  been  made  to  catalogue  the  trades  with 
indication  of  the  handicaps  that  do  and  those  that 
do  not  prohibit  success  in  their  operations.  It  is  very 
difficult  to  make  any  generalization  in  regard  to  the 
adaptability  of  certain  injuries  to  particular  trades. 
Men  who  have  suffered  the  loss  of  the  right  arm,  which 
is  conceded  to  be  the  most  difficult  of  all  injuries  for 
retraining,  have  made  good  in  many  occupations  from 
which  they  would  seem  to  be  debarred,  except  for 
their  determination  to  succeed.  T.  R.  Bigler,  a  crip- 
ple with  but  one  leg  and  one  arm,  demonstrated  in  a 
New  York  piano  factory  in  1918  that  he  could  do 
satisfactorily  many  of  the  processes.  He  proved  to 
the  surprise  of  experts  that  a  one-legged  and  one- 
armed  man  could  do  practically  every  job  in  the 
factory.  John  Cuthbert  Faries  of  New  York  says  in 
this  connection : 

The  stories  of  men  who  have  succeeded  in  spite  of  handi- 
caps and  of  those  who  have  not  are  merely  suggestive  of 
what  may  be  attempted  for  others.  Each  case  for  readjust- 
ment will  be  a  problem  in  itself,  in  which  a  man's  education, 

60 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  RE-EDUCATION 

his  previous  industrial  experience,  his  tastes  and  aptitudes, 
the  nature  of  his  injury  and  other  handicaps,  the  conditions 
in  industry  in  general,  or  in  a  particular  trade,  and  a  multi- 
tude of  other  factors  will  affect  the  solution. 

The  convention  of  industrial  surgeons,  meeting  in 
Chicago  on  June  10,  1918,  virtually  agreed  that  the 
question  is  an  individual  one  and  every  case  must  be 
"investigated  separately  in  the  light  of  the  medical, 
technical,  economic  and  personal  factors  of  his  case." 
At  the  same  meeting  Mr.  T.  B.  Kidner,  under  whose 
guidance  the  Canadian  system  came  to  its  full 
efficiency,  and  who  was  loaned  by  the  Canadian  Gov- 
ernment to  the  United  States  Government  as  an  ad- 
viser to  the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education 
in  getting  the  work  under  way  in  the  United  States, 
made  practically  the  same  statement:  "There  are 
no  readymade  lists  of  vocations  to  which  men  with 
certain  disabilities  can  be  assigned  as  a  matter  of 
routine.  Each  case  must  be  handled  on  its  own 
merits."  Dr.  Bourillon,  the  French  educationalist, 
declares :  "It  would  be  rash  to  draw  up  a  limited  list 
of  the  trades  which  can  be  taught  to  the  mutilated, 
for  often  an  ingenuity  and  unsuspected  skill  allows 
of  their  doing  work  which  at  first  sight  seemed  to  be 
impossible."  The  Federal  Board  in  a  memorandum 
on  the  subject  declares:  "It  is  the  same  in  this  in- 
dividual struggle  as  in  the  great  world  struggle  now 
going  on:  'We  will  win  if  we  have  the  will  to 
win.'  " 

In  addition  to  reeducating  the  disabled  men  who 
are  so  injured  as  not  to  be  able  to  return  to  their  old 
employments  of  trades  or  callings,  the  Government 
has  undertaken  to  place  them  in  the  occupations  for 

61 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

which  they  have  been  reeducated.  Not  only  will  they 
be  placed  in  suitable  wage-earning  positions,  but  the 
authorities  will  maintain  contact  with  them  and 
supervise  their  welfare.  This  in  itself  is  a  task  of 
considerable  magnitude.  It  does  not  mean  that  the 
men  are  to  be  coddled  or  led  to  expect  special  privi- 
leges. Nothing  of  the  sort.  When  the  men  are 
turned  out  of  the  retraining  courses,  they  will  be 
expert  men  in  particular  lines,  in  which  they  will  be 
amply  able,  physically  and  by  education  and  training, 
to  hold  their  own.  But  the  Government  will  look 
after  them  to  see  that  they  are  given  ' '  a  square  deal ' ' 
and  are  not  discriminated  against,  and  also  to  see  that 
they  are  giving  a  square  deal  to  their  employers  in  the 
work  they  are  being  paid  to  do. 

Besides  the  retraining  of  these  men  and  placing  of 
them  in  their  new  callings,  the  Government  has  under- 
taken to  place  back  in  industry  the  wounded  men 
who,  discharged  from  the  Army  by  reason  of  wounds 
incapacitating  them  for  further  military  service,  are 
not.  so  injured  that  they  cannot  go  back  to  their 
former  occupations.  The  Federal  Board  for  Voca- 
tional Education  will  undertake  to  have  employment 
ready  for  these  men  coincident  with  their  recovery 
and  discharge  from  hospital  in  condition  again  to 
take  up  the  work  of  making  a  living.  It  is  realized 
that  the  man  who  has  spent  some  time  in  the  Army 
or  Navy,  and  has  lost  touch  with  industrial  condi- 
tions, may  have  considerable  difficulty  in  obtaining 
employment.  War  times  are  extraordinary;  the  em- 
ployment the  man  quits  to  take  up  soldiering  may  not 
be  available  for  him  on  his  return,  and  conditions  may 
have  changed  in  that  particular  industry.  The  Gov- 

62 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  KE-EDUCATION 

eminent  will  endeavor  to  place  these  men  without 
delay  and  to  keep  in  touch  with  them  so  that  there 
will  be  no  obstacle  to  their  merging  back  into  the 
industrial  and  creative  work  of  the  Nation. 


63 


CHAPTER  VI 

BELGIUM,  THE  PIONEER  IN  RESTORATION  WORK 

Pitiable  state  of  the  disabled  Belgian  exiles  —  M.  Schollaert's 
charitable  experiment  —  Curative  effects  of  work  —  The 
Depot  dot  Invalides  at  Havre  —  Foundation  and  develop- 
ment of  the  tecole  nationale  beige  des  mutiles  dc  la  guerre 
at  Port  Villez  —  Organization  and  courses  —  Compulsory 
training  —  Provision  for  professional  students  at  Paris. 

In  the  tragic,  earlier  days  of  the  war,  after  Bel- 
gium's army  was  overwhelmed  and  all  save  a  single 
corner  of  the  heroic  little  country  was  overrun  by 
German  hordes,  the  plight  of  the  disabled  Belgian 
soldier  was  a  most  unhappy  one.  Handicapped 
though  he  was  by  sickness  and  wounds,  he  could  not 
return  to  his  own  country,  for  it  was  in  the  hands  of 
the  invaders.  If  he  had  been  in  a  hospital  in  Bel- 
gium, there  was  little  he  could  do  to  help  himself 
after  discharge  unless  he  was  able  to  make  his  way 
to  England  or  France.  The  Belgian  Government 
was  not  able  to  help  him,  not  because  of  indifference, 
but  because  it  did  not  know  what  to  do.  It  was, 
besides,  in  a  death  grapple  for  its  very  existence. 

Some  of  the  disabled  men,  after  discharge  from 
the  hospitals,  made  their  way  to  France  and  across 
the  Channel.  Many  of  them  were  skilled  artisans 
who  were  not  so  badly  shattered  that  they  could  not 
work  at  their  trades,  and  the  munitions  and  other 
factories  of  the  Allies  readily  gave  them  employment. 
But  there  was  a  larger  proportion  of  the  disabled 
Belgians  who  were  totally  demoralized  and  bereft  of 

64 


BELGIUM,  THE  PIONEER 

either  initiative  or  hope.  They  wandered  about  over 
France,  lamenting  their  fate  and  that  of  their  coun- 
try. They  were  in  rags  of  uniforms;  they  had 
wounds,  or  disease,  or  shell  shock;  they  were  be- 
wildered, aimless  and  hopeless ;  they  were  beggars  and 
subsisted  on  charity.  Certainly  they  were  not  im- 
proving their  own  condition,  and  they  were  not  only 
an  economic  burden  upon  the  generous  householders 
of  France,  but  they  were  spreading  demoralization 
and  fear  of  the  enemy  behind  the  lines. 
A  M.  Schollaert,  President  of  the  Belgian  House  of 
Representatives,  had  a  country  home  at  St.  Addresse, 
near  Havre,  France,  to  which  he  had  retired  when  it 
was  no  longer  possible  to  remain  in  his  own  country. 
Some  of  these  poor,  broken  and  destitute  wounded  / 
Belgian  soldiers  applied  there  for  food,  clothing,  and 
dressing  for  their  wounds,  unhealed  by  lack  of  atten- 
tion. The  men  were  taken  in,  of  course;  they  were 
fed,  washed,  clothed,  and  given  the  medical  and  surgi- 
cal help  needed.  Other  men  came,  and  all  found  a 
refuge  in  which  they  could  recuperate  and  win  back 
their  strength  and  nerve.  Some  of  them  wanted  to 
work  and  endeavor  to  requite  the  good  Schollaert 
for  his  kindness.  He,  of  course,  refused  to  permit 
this,  but  told  the  men  that  if  they  could  make  any- 
thing during  the  period  of  convalescence  and  could 
dispose  of  the  goods,  they  were  more  than  welcome 
to  keep  the  proceeds.  Several  who  were  brushmakers 
set  up  a  temporary  shop  in  the  stable.  The  entire 
house  by  now  was  filled  with  wounded,  and  a  shoe- 
maker had  started  a  shop  in  the  parlor.  Some 
turners  in  wood  were  working  in  the  kitchen,  and 
others  who  had  crafts  were  endeavoring  to  work 

65 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

wherever  a  place  for  their  operations  could  be  found. 

The  good  effect  of  work,  of  something  to  occupy 
the  minds  of  the  wounded  and  disabled  men,  was  at 
once  apparent.  They  became  more  cheerful  and  im- 
proved physically.  Those  who  had  no  trades,  or  were 
incapacitated  for  following  their  own  trades,  began 
tentatively  trying  to  help  those  who  were  working 
and  to  adapt  themselves  in  respect  of  their  several 
handicaps.  All  of  these  men  began  to  show  marked 
improvement.  ^ 

M.  Schollaert  at  this  point  presented  the  matter  to 
the  Belgian  Minister  of  War  and  asked  permission  to 
maintain  regularly  a  house  and  school  for  a  larger 
number  of  wounded  soldiers  in  need  of  care  and 
reeducation.  It  was  granted,  of  course,  together  with 
some  financial  assistance.  Portable  "knock-down" 
houses  were  set  up  on  the  estate  to  serve  as  workshops 
and  barracks,  and  thus  came  into  existence  the  Depot 
des  Invalides. 

An  organization  was  formed  to  provide  nursing, 
medical  care  and  vocational  instruction.  The  citi- 
zens of  Havre  were  interested  and  gave  assistance. 
Artisans  of  that  city  volunteered  to  help  in  the  work 
of  reclamation  and  reconstruction  of  their  un- 
fortunate allies.  The  curriculum  of  the  school  was 
speedily  enlarged  to  include  carpentry,  brushmaking, 
toymaking,  plumbing,  sal)  of  making,  cooperage, 
mechanics,  metal  turning,  electrical  work,  upholster- 
ing, wood  turning,  patternmaking,  shoemaking,  tailor- 
ing, paper  binding,  printing,  envelope  making,  and 
the  manufacture  of  artificial  limbs. 

The  school  was  organized  with  a  competent  medical 
department,  a  technical  department,  and  an  academic 

66 


BELGIUM,  THE  PIONEER 

department.  The  pupils  were  made  to  take  academic 
work  in  addition  to  the  practical  shop  work.  The 
institution  admitted  all  disabled  or  invalid  soldiers 
assigned  to  it  by  the  Belgian  War  Department.  The 
Government  paid  it  two  francs  50  centimes  per  day 
for  each  man.  Out  of  this  25  centimes  was  paid  to 
each  pupil.  The  Quartermaster  furnished  clothing, 
and  the  Medical  Corps  beds  and  bedding.  Men  of 
the  older  classes,  unfit  for  active  service,  were  de- 
tailed from  the  Army  as  instructors,  and  nurses  and 
stretcher  bearers  were  assigned  as  nurses  and  dis- 
ciplinarians. While  the  men  were  in  the  ' '  apprentice 
class,"  they  received  wages  of  from  50  centimes  to 
one  franc  a  day.  When  they  acquired  journey- 
man's skill,  they  made,  on  an  average,  two  francs  50 
centimes  per  day,  or  60  francs  per  month.  Ten 
francs  of  this  was  given  each  man  for  pocket  money ; 
the  rest  was  deposited  in  a  savings  account  for  the 
man,  to  be  paid  to  him  on  his  discharge.  Each  man 
also  acquired  a  complete  set  of  tools,  when  such  were 
needed  for  his  trade,  and  paid  for  them  gradually. 

The  Belgian  War  Minister  was  quick  to  see  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  institution  as  it  was  being  developed 
by  M.  Schollaert.  The  economic  possibilities  of  the 
work  at  once  became  manifest.  To  a  small  country 
which  had  suffered  grievous  losses  in  man  power,  the 
salvaging  of  the  scrapheap  offered  many  opportunities 
to  reduce  the  loss.  The  disabled  men  could  be  taught 
to  do  the  things  necessary  to  maintain  the  remnant  of 
the  Belgian  armies  —  repair  shoes,  harness  and  guns, 
make  munitions,  and  do  the  thousand  and  one  things 
needful  to  keep  an  army  in  going  condition  as  regards 
equipment.  Besides,  every  man  not  able  to  return 

67 


REDEMPTION  OP  THE  DISABLED 

to  the  ranks  could  be  used  to  replace  an  ablebodied 
man,  and  to  release  the  latter  to  take  his  part  in  the 
actual  work  of  driving  the  invaders  from  Belgian  soil. 

A  patriotic  Belgian  presented  to  the  Government 
a  considerable  tract  of  land  on  the  River  Seine,  at 
Port  Villez,  near  the  town  of  Vernon,  almost  midway 
between  Paris  and  Rouen.  The  French  Government 
was  entirely  agreeable  as  host  to  the  exiled  Belgians, 
and  a  reconstruction  hospital  and  curative  workshop 
on  a  large  scale  was  projected  at  Port  Villez.  A  sec- 
tion of  army  engineers  and  other  workers  commenced 
to  clear  the  land  on  July  12,  1915,  as  the  preliminary 
to  building  operations.  On  August  21,  before  any 
but  a  small  portion  of  the  work  was  done  or  the  estab- 
lishment was  ready,  disabled  men  began  to  arrive; 
they  had  been  discharged  from  the  hospitals,  but  were 
decided  to  be  proper  subjects  for  reeducation  and 
restorative  work.  In  one  year  from  the  time  ground 
was  broken,  the  Ecole  nationale  beige  dcs  muffles  de 
la  guerre  (National  Belgian  School  for  War  Disabled) 
was  in  full  operation,  and  1,200  men  were  in  training 
and  being  reclaimed,  reeducated,  and  refitted  for  use- 
fulness to  their  country  and  to  themselves. 

As  soon  as  the  school  was  determined  upon,  in 
November,  1914,  the  Belgian  Government  issued  a 
decree  making  reeducation  compulsory  for  men  still 
in  the  army  hospitals.  This  decree  was  at  once  ex- 
tended to  include  all  discharged  men  who  were 
wounded  or  disabled.  The  discharge  papers  were  re- 
voked, and  all  of  the  discharged  soldiers  were  rounded 
up  and  given  a  physical  reexamination.  Those  who 
had  been  drifting  around  the  country  were  sent  to  the 
military  hospitals  for  such  further  treatment  as 

68 


BELGIUM,  THE  PIONEER 

seemed  necessary.  Some  were  sent  direct  to  Port 
Villez  or  to  M.  Schollaert's  Depot  des  Invalides. 
Those  of  the  discharged  men  who  had  found  steady 
jobs  in  France  or  England  were  not  disturbed,  but 
were  put  back  on  the  rolls  as  on  leave  without  pay. 
There  are  shops  in  connection  with  the  Belgian 
hospitals  at  Kouen,  France,  which  also  are  being  used 
now  for  reeducational  purposes. 

The  institution  at  Port  Villez  has  grown  to  a  vast 
establishment  of  more  than  90  long  wooden  barracks, 
each  of  the  same  type  as  the  portable  field-hospital 
hut,  with  double  walls  and  cement  foundations.  Some 
buildings  on  the  place  when  it  was  taken  over  have 
also  been  utilized.  At  one  end  of  the  rows  of  bar- 
racks there  is  a  large  meeting  hall,  and  beyond  it  the 
infirmary  and  officers'  quarters.  At  the  other  end 
of  the  row  is  a  steam  sawmill,  a  joinery,  and  a  shed 
for  hand  carpentry.  The  sawmill  and  carpenter  and 
joiner's  shops  were  used  in  reducing  trees  on  the 
place  to  lumber  and  fixtures  to  be  utilized  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  cantonment. 

Beyond  the  sawmill  is  the  garage  and  repair  shops 
and  motor-mechanics  school,  and,  farther  on,  the 
stables  and  the  poultry  yards  where  poultry  farming 
is  taught ;  from  the  latter  institution  substantial  help 
for  the  commissary  for  the  invalids  in  the  way  of 
chickens  and  eggs  is  obtained.  There  is  a  large  and 
intensively  cultivated  garden  and  truck  farm  in  front 
of  the  institution,  which  serves  the  doubly  or  trebly 
useful  purpose  of  serving  to  teach  market  gardening 
to  some  of  the  pupils,  to  give  needed  curative  exer- 
cise to  others,  and  to  furnish  a  considerable  amount 
of  good  food  for  the  support  of  the  men.  The  erection 

69 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

of  necessary  buildings  lias  kept  pace  with  the  needs 
of  the  institution.  A  colonel  is  superintendent,  and 
there  is  strict  military  discipline. 

The  school  is  divided  into  three  departments  — 
medical  service,  academic,  and  technical  training. 
The  main  duty  of  the  medical  service  is  to  provide 
functional  reeducation  for  those  who  need  it,  to  study 
and  catalogue  the  men  according  to  their  capacities. 
It  also  manufactures  orthopedic  appliances  which 
make  it  easier  for  crippled  men  to  work  at  certain 
trades.  The  physiotherapy  and  regular  gymnastics 
given  the  men  to  restore  atrophied  muscles  and 
stiffened  joints  and  to  develop  muscles  in  stumps  is 
supplemented  by  exercise  in  the  workshops. 

The  academic  department  provides  schooling  for 
men  learning  trades,  and  gives  theoretical  instruction 
in  the  trades  and  special  courses  for  men  who  desire 
to  fit  themselves  for  clerical  occupations.  The  gen- 
eral plan  of  theoretical  instruction  is  the  same  for  all 
the  trades.  It  includes  the  study  of  tools  and  ma- 
chinery, raw  materials  and  sources,  processes  in  the 
trades,  and  methods  of  determining  sale  price  and 
of  placing  the  output  on  sale.  The  director  of  the 
department,  together  with  the  technical  director, 
holds  a  meeting  of  all  the  shop  foremen  and  in- 
structors to  discuss  methods  and  technical  questions, 
and  everything  possible  is  done  to  make  the  theoretical 
instruction  a  real  aid  in  the  practical  work.  Wood 
and  metal  workers,  for  instance,  attend  classes  in 
drafting,  so  that  they  may  learn  to  read  and  to  make 
working  drawings. 

The  commercial  courses  are  for  men  of  suitable 
previous  experience  and  education  who  wish  to  take 

70 


BELGIUM,  THE  PIONEER 

up  office  or  clerical  work.  There  are  four  main, 
branches  —  primary,  preparatory  for  civil-service 
positions,  a  regular  commercial  division,  and  a  nor- 
mal division  for  the  training  of  teachers.  Pupils  in 
the  primary  section  are  taught  French,  Flemish, 
arithmetic,  geometry,  elementary  principles  of  busi- 
ness, history,  geography  and  the  elements  of  social 
economics.  The  Belgian  Government,  owning  the 
railways  of  the  country,  employed  before  the  war  a 
great  many  men  as  engineers,  brakemen  and  porters. 
Those  who  on  account  of  their  injuries  cannot  resume 
their  former  occupations  are  now  being  trained  as 
clerks,  cashiers,  telegraphers,  ticket  sellers,  station 
agents  and  office  employees.  The  course  generally 
has  been  divided  into  two  terms  each  of  six  months' 
duration. 

The  course  of  the  department  for  civil-service  posi- 
tions includes  the  two  national  languages,  a  third 
language,  writing,  history,  geography,  business  and 
constitutional  law,  arithmetic,  elements  of  algebra, 
plane  and  solid  geometry,  elements  of  physics,  social 
economics,  stenography  and  typewriting.  This  work 
is  divided  into  three  terms  of  four  months  each. 

The  commercial  course  is  divided  into  two  terms  of 
six  months  each.  During  the  first  term  all  students 
study  the  elements  of  bookkeeping,  commercial  arith- 
metic, four  languages,  commercial  geography,  stenog- 
raphy and  typewriting.  In  the  second  term  they 
specialize  as  expert  bookkeepers,  commercial  corre- 
spondents, or  wireless  operators. 

The  normal  course  covers  two  terms  of  six  months 
each.  In  most  instances  the  teachers  were,  before 
the  war,  school  and  college  teachers,  expert  ac- 

71 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

countants  in  large  banks,  or  men  holding  important 
administrative  posts. 

When  men  arrive  at  Port  Villez,  they  are  first  given 
a  thorough  medical  examination  to  determine  what 
sort  of  physiotherapeutic  treatment  they  require. 
They  are  next  examined  as  to  their  previous  general 
schooling  and  their  mental  qualifications.  This  is 
done  for  the  double  purpose  of  grouping  them  in 
classes  for  further  instruction  and  to  help  in  directing 
the  subjects  to  a  suitable  occupation  to  be  studied  in 
the  school.  There  are,  of  course,  certain  callings 
that  are  unsuitable  for  men  who  are  without  a  good 
general  education  or  a  quick  mentality. 

A  third  examination  is  conducted  by  the  technical 
director,  who  is  a  man  of  unusual  understanding  and 
sympathy,  with  a  wonderful  capacity  for  getting  in 
touch  with  the  subject's  or  pupil's  real  self  and  inner 
consciousness  and  of  communicating  enthusiasm  and 
optimism.  He  accompanies  the  new  arrivals  on  in- 
formal tours  of  the  workshops,  lets  them  talk  to  the 
men  engaged  in  studying  and  working  at  the  various 
trades,  and  endeavors  thoroughly  to  understand  the 
latent  aptitudes  and  tastes  of  the  new  man  who  has 
not  yet  decided  what  he  wants  to  take  up. 

After  this  preliminary  survey  each  individual  is 
brought  separately  before  a  committee  composed  of 
the  examining  physician,  the  academic  director  and 
the  technical  director.  The  members  of  the  com- 
mittee compare  their  individual  notes  as  to  the  man 's 
capacities.  They  confer  and  consult  with  him  as  to 
his  inclinations  and  preferences,  and  then  decide  that 
he  shall  be  given  a  trial  apprenticeship  at  'a  certain 
trade.  If  after  a  week's  trial  it  appears  that  the  man 

72 


BELGIUM,  THE  PIONEER 

lias  been  misplaced,  the  case  is  reconsidered  and  he 
is  assigned  to  some  other  trade  more  congenial  or 
better  suited  to  his  capabilities. 

Over  40  trades  are  taught  in  the  department  of 
technical  training,  among  them  being  machine  car- 
pentry, hand  carpentry  and  cabinetmaking,  pattern- 
making,  making  of  toys  and  small  articles  for  arma- 
ment and  for  household  use,  woodcarving,  wooden- 
shoe  making,  wood  polishing,  pyrography,  brass  and 
leather  repousse  work,  general  mechanics,  oxy-acety- 
lene  welding,  a  course  for  chauffeurs  and  automobile 
mechanics,  plumbing  and  zinc  working,  clockmaking, 
electricians,  shoemaking,  saddlery,  tailoring,  furriers, 
upholstery,  basketry,  typesetting,  both  by  hand  and 
linotype,  printing  pressmen,  engraving  and  lithog- 
raphy, photogravure,  motion-picture  machine  opera- 
tors, hairdressing,  brushmaking,  industrial  designing 
and  drafting,  sculpture  and  modeling,  painting  in  its 
several  branches,  baking,  poultry  raising,  truck  farm- 
ing and  general  agriculture. 

There  is  no  fixed  length  of  time  for  learning  a 
trade ;  necessarily  there  cannot  be.  It  depends  upon 
the  aptitude  of  the  student,  his  interest  and  his 
facility  in  overcoming  his  handicap.  The  author- 
ities, however,  have  found  that  good  teaching  methods 
can  reduce  very  greatly  the  time  supposed  to  be  neces- 
sary for  an  apprenticeship  in  a  given  trade  in  ordi- 
nary civil  life  and  under  normal  conditions.  The 
shops  are  operated  for  production  as  well  as  for 
teaching,  but  efficiency  in  teaching  is  never  sacrificed 
for  the  purpose  of  increasing  production.  Most  of 
the  shop  products  are  used  to  fill  orders  from  the 
Belgian  Government,  but  when  these  orders  do  not 

73 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

provide  the  necessary  variety  for  thorough  apprentice- 
ship, orders  from  private  firms  are  taken. 

The  steady  inflow  of  new  men  does  not  disarrange 
the  classes  or  the  work  of  good  apprenticeship.  New- 
comers are  grouped  together  and  started  to  work 
under  the  supervision  of  a  monitor ;  after  preliminary 
tryouts  new  groupings  are  made  in  accordance  with 
the  ability  and  progress  of  individuals.  The  work  is 
very  carefully  supervised  by  monitors,  foremen  and 
doctors,  and  the  men  are  never  allowed  to  become  dis- 
couraged. In  some  of  the  trades  there  is  a  monitor 
for  every  four  men. 

Techically  speaking,  the  training  at  Port  Villez  was 
compulsory;  practically  the  compulsion  was  found  to 
be  valuable  only  to  the  extent  of  requiring  disabled 
men  to  report  there,  holding  them  there,  and  enforcing 
discipline  in  the  institution.  In  the  earlier  days  of 
its  existence  there  was  friction  in  plenty,  and  the 
Peuple  Beige  of  Paris  of  July  22,  1917,  after  rather 
heatedly  discussing  the  subject,  in  part  said: 

In  short,  much  of  the  failure  there  is  said  to  be  due  to 
the  maintenance  in  uniform  and  under  military  discipline 
of  men,  who,  in  view  of  their  reeducation  and  its  aims, 
should  be  returned  to  civilian  life,  and  to  employment  in  a 
civilian  capacity  of  men  whose  proper  place  should  be  in 
the  army. 

These  matters  of  friction  gradually  readjusted 
themselves  as  the  expediency  of  compulsory  methods 
became  more  uncertain  and  the  military  features  grew 
less  prominent.  Persuasion  was  found  much  more 
effective  in  inducing  the  men  to  take  up  and  pursue 
the  courses  of  training  and  it  grew  to  be  the  rule, 
while  the  military  end  of  the  institution  was  reserved 

74 


BELGIUM,  THE  PIONEER 

for  its  administration.     Concerning  this  feature  at 
Port  Villez,  "  Recalled  to  Life,  No.  2,"  says: 

Here  there  is  no  doubt  at  all  as  to  the  propriety  any  more 
than  the  legality  of  compulsory  training,  but  it  is  found  to 
be  ineffective  as  training.  M.  Alleman,  the  director  of 
studies  there  says :  "Compulsion  should  never  be  employed. 
In  certain  schools,  80  per  cent,  of  failures  occurred  through 
misapprehension  of  this  principle." 

All  of  the  cost  of  the  Port  Villez  school  is  borne  by 
the  Belgian  Government.  It  is  managed  in  a  most 
economical  way,  and  the  construction  costs  have  been 
held  down  to  lowest  possible  amounts  consistent  with 
sound  workmanship  and  material.  It  is  the  intention 
to  use  the  portable  barracks  and  cottages  now  used  as 
dormitories  in  rehabilitating  the  devastated  regions. 
The  permanent  structures  were  built  out  of  materials 
furnished  by  the  owner  of  the  property.  The  heating 
has  cost  only  the  labor  of  cutting  and  hauling  the 
wood  on  the  estate.  Food  cost  is  held  to  low  levels 
by  the  large  supply  of  vegetables,  poultry,  pigs,  etc., 
raised  by  the  pupils  who  are  taking  the  agricultural, 
gardening  and  poultry-raising  courses.  Butchers, 
bakers  and  others  among  the  personnel  render  service 
according  to  their  several  capacities  and  trades. 

The  men  in  the  school  are  maintained  by  the  Bel- 
gian Government,  and  the  regular  rate  of  army  pay, 
43  centimes  per  day,  is  allowed.  In  addition,  wages 
of  from  50  centimes  to  one  franc  a  day  are  paid  out 
of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  articles  made  in  the 
shops.  These  proceeds  are  used  to  help  defray  the 
general  expenses  of  the  school. 

For  men  who  do  not  care  to  take  up  manual  trades 
and  who  are  by  previous  education  fitted  to  study  a 

75 


profession  other  than  the  limited  courses  offered  at 
Port  Villez,  there  is  the  "Home  University"  at  Paris. 
There  instruction  in  the  higher  branches  of  learning 
may  be  had  in  the  great  schools  and  colleges  of  the 
French  capital  —  law,  medicine,  natural  sciences, 
philosophy,  teaching,  and  commercial  collegiate 
courses.  Books  and  instruments  are  furnished  by 
the  Ministry  of  Arts  and  Sciences  of  the  Belgian 
Government,  and  students  are  allowed  to  attend  the 
various  institutions  giving  instruction  in  the  particu- 
lar lines  desired.  They  are  granted  a  certain  amount 
for  maintenance,  and  are  not  required  to  reside  in 
barracks.  Such  medical  or  surgical  attention  as  may 
be  required  from  time  to  time  has  been  arranged  for 
with  the  French  authorities. 


76 


CHAPTER  VII 

SYSTEMATIC  DEVELOPMENT  IN  FRANCE 

Eclouard  Herriot  and  the  Lyons  schools  —  The  Institut 
national  professionel  des  invalides  de  la  guerre  —  Schools 
established  by  private  philanthropy  —  Government  voca- 
tional schools  —  Eeluctance  of  discharged  men  to  return 
for  training  —  Schools  attached  to  hospitals  —  National 
control  of  restoration  work  —  Centers  of  readaptation  — 
Registration  of  the  disabled  —  Departmental  committees 
—  Compensation  of  workmen  —  School  discipline  — 
Courses  offered  —  French  losses  in  the  war. 

As  in  Belgium,  the  system  of  reeducation  and  re- 
habilitation of  disabled  soldiers  in  France  has  been 
an  evolution  from  a  start  initiated  by  one  man. 

In  the  late  summer  and  fall  of  1914,  the  hard  fight- 
ing along  the  Belgian  border  and  the  great  Battles 
of  the  Marne  and  the  Aisne  had  filled  the  French 
hospitals.  Presently  the  hospitals  began  to  discharge 
the  disabled  for  whom  there  was  nothing  more  to  be 
done  in  a  medical  or  surgical  way.  A  large  pro- 
portion of  them  had  recovered  and  rejoined  their  com- 
mands at  the  front.  There  was  another  percentage 
which  would  never  again  fight  on  a  battlefield.  Their 
wounds  and  their  amputations  were  healed  and  they 
were  equipped  with  the  necessary  artificial  legs  or 
arms,  but  these  men,  in  so  far  as  further  usefulness 
to  the  French  Army  was  concerned,  were  permanently 
out  of  consideration.  It  is  true  that  the  minute,  not 
to  say  infinitesimal,  French  pension  was  awarded 
them,  but  this  was  utterly  insufficient  to  maintain 
them. 

77 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

It  was  a  time  when  human  fuel  was  being  fed  into 
the  war  machine  with  a  prodigal  lavishness.  The 
Government  could  not  stop  to  consider  such  charred 
and  unconsumed  bits  of  material  as  were  raked  out  of 
the  roaring  furnaces.  The  ashheaps  might  be  picked 
over  later  for  salvagable  matter  and  useful  residue, 
but  with  an  abundance  of  prime  energy  giving  food 
for  the  flames  the  need  was  not  then  apparent,  nor 
did  it  seem  to  occur  to  anyone  that  the  necessity  would 
ever  arise. 

Thus,  the  men  who  had  given  their  blood,  their 
limbs,  their  ability  to  support  themselves  and  their 
dependents,  were  relegated  to  the  dead  eddies  of  life, 
far  in  the  rear  and  away  from  the  lashing  fury  of  the 
storm  at  the  front.  These  soldiers  were  done  for. 
They  were  an  economic  burden,  producing  nothing, 
yet  consuming.  They  were  miserable  over  their  out- 
look down  the  years  and  were  dampers  upon  the 
enthusiasm  of  others,  for  in  their  helpless  condition 
a  future  of  mendicancy  or  charity  support  seemed 
inevitable.  It  does  not  do  in  war  time  to  dwell  upon 
these  things  too  deeply.  Such  meditation  is  depress- 
ing, and  it  is  reflected  upon  the  morale  of  those  who 
are  in  the  actual  shock  of  battle. 

Back  to  the  city  of  Lyons  drifted  a  quota  of  these 
broken  men.  That  they  deserved  better  than  to  have 
their  eager  gift  of  superb  young  manhood  requited 
only  by  an  insufficient  pension  seemed  a  general  view, 
but  no  one  thought  of  anything  more  substantial. 
They  were  lionized  for  a  few  days  or  weeks,  but  the 
Nation  was  so  busy  with  the  vital  fight  that  the  heroes 
of  last  week  were  pushed  to  the  rear  by  the  heroes  of 
a  later  battle.  So  matters  went  until  the  Mayor  of 

78 


SYSTEMATIC   DEVELOPMENT   IN   FRANCE 

Lyons,  M.  Edouard  Herriot,  began  wrestling  with  the 
problem. 

M.  Herriot  concluded  that  these  mutiles  were  men 
of  potential  or  of  residual  value.  He  saw  that  possi- 
bly they  could  be  made  useful  for  necessary  work 
behind  the  lines,  which  was  requiring  the  services 
of  men  able  to  carry  arms  who  were  badly  needed  at 
the  front  to  oppose  the  invading  hordes.  He  also 
evolved  the  idea  that  not  only  could  the  war  machine  be 
given  this  hitherto  neglected  power,  but  on  the  return 
to  peace  these  men  would  play  a  most  important  part 
in  the  general  readjustment,  when  skilled  men  in  the 
various  trades  would  be  scarce.  Thus,  instead  of  being 
a  dead  weight  upon  the  country,  mere  pensioners  upon 
the  public  treasury  and  beneficiaries  of  the  bounty 
of  their  relatives  or  of  the  various  communities,  he 
perceived  that  the  disabled  could  be  fitted  actually  to 
carry  some  of  the  burden  in  the  war  as  well  as  in  the 
after  days  of  peace. 

Mayor  Herriot  initiated  his  experiment  by  sug- 
gesting that  the  municipality  of  Lyons  should 
organize  a  school  in  which  men  rendered  unfit  for 
their  former  occupations  should  be  taught  other 
crafts  for  which,  despite  their  wounds  or  handicaps 
of  physical  condition,  they  could  qualify.  The  idea 
was  approved,  and  on  December  16,  1914,  the  munici- 
pal school  of  Lyons  opened  with  three  pupils.  By 
the  following  May  its  accommodations  were  taxed  to 
the  utmost,  and  another  school  was  opened  in  the 
suburbs  of  the  city.  The  first  institution  was  called 
the  ficole  Joffre,  in  honor  of  the  hero  of  the  Marne, 
and  the  second,  the  JEcole  de  Tourveille. 

As  in  the  case  of  Belgium,  whose  Government  was 
79 


quick  to  recognize  the  value  of  the  work  initiated  by 
M.  Schollaert  at  his  Depot  des  Invalides,  the  French 
Government  saw  great  possibilities  in  M.  Herriot's 
Bcole  Joffre  and  as  promptly  took  action.  At  St. 
Maurice,  near  Paris,  there  was  an  industrial  home 
for  cripples.  It  was  taken  over,  and  in  May,  1915, 
the  Institut  national  professionel  des  invalides  de 
la  guerre,  with  accommodations  for  300  students,  was 
opened,  and  soon  filled.  As  knowledge  of  the  marvels 
of  reeducation  extended  and  the  public  became  aware 
that  the  disabled  men  could  have  their  handicaps 
neutralized  by  reeducation  to  take  advantage  of  their 
remaining  capabilities,  steps  were  taken  in  other 
parts  of  the  Kepublic  to  inaugurate  the  work.  Mu- 
nicipal authorities,  departmental  governments,  trade 
unions  and  private  philanthropy  showed  intense  in- 
terest and  went  earnestly  into  the  scheme  of  restora- 
tion. The  idea  of  rehabilitating  the  disabled  men 
caught  the  popular  fancy.  The  people  had  recognized 
that  a  mere  pension  and,  perhaps,  a  decoration  for 
valor  were  inadequate  for  the  long,  hard  years  when 
peace  should  come  again.  They  were  willing  and 
anxious  to  do  more,  and  eagerly  followed  when  M. 
Herriot  showed  the  way. 

Schools  were  organized  at  many  points  and  speed- 
ily filled  with  pupils.  The  injured  men  who  sought 
them  went  at  the  work  with  the  same  fire  and  deter- 
mination with  which  they  had  fought.  They  realized 
that  if  they  could  take  the  places  of  men  back  of  the 
lines,  the  latter  could  take  the  places  the  wounded 
men  had  left  vacant  at  the  front.  It  was  a  sort  of 
vicarious  fighting  which  appealed  to  them  immensely. 
And  the  practical  side  of  it  was  not  overlooked  —  the 

80 


SYSTEMATIC   DEVELOPMENT   IN   FRANCE 

advantage  of  supplementing  the  little  pension  with 
ample  wages  after  the  war. 

The  Minister  of  Commerce  adapted  the  vocational 
schools  under  his  jurisdiction  so  they  might  be  used 
to  reeducate  the  disabled  men.  In  some  of  the  schools 
the  soldier  students  entered  the  regular  classes  where 
the  work  was  suitable  for  them;  in  other  instances 
special  classes  and  instructors  were  provided.  Some 
of  the  existing  schools  organized  separate  branches 
for  the  mutiles  under  the  supervision  of  the  Minister 
of  Commerce.  The  Ministry  of  Agriculture  under- 
took to  organize  such  branches  of  agricultural  educa- 
tion as  would  be  suitable  for  the  disabled.  Trade 
organizations  and  arts  and  crafts  schools  joined  in 
the  effort  to  develop  the  new  education.  By  the  fall 
of  1915,  France  had  embarked  definitely  upon  a  policy 
of  restoration  for  every  injured  man,  fitting  him  for 
some  phase  of  usefulness  compatible  with  the  abilities 
remaining  to  him. 

The  Government  had  bent  every  effort  to  have  the 
National  Institute  at  St.  Maurice  as  nearly  perfect  as 
possible  in  appointments,  teaching  staff,  curriculum 
and  methods,  so  that  it  might  be  used  as  a  model  for 
other  institutions  to  be  established  throughout  the 
Republic  by  agencies  other  than  the  national  Govern- 
ment. Public  attention  became  much  engrossed  with 
the  duty  of  the  country  to  the  mutilated  fighting  man, 
and  very  rapid  strides  were  made  in  rehabilitation 
and  placement  work.  A  survey  conducted  by  the 
Ministry  of  Commerce  in  1916  disclosed  that  at  that 
time  there  were  more  than  100  schools  available  for 
restoration  work.  Some  of  these  were  capable  of 
receiving  only  a  few  pupils,  while  others  were  large 

81 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

enough,  to  accommodate  from  200  to  300.  Most  of 
these  schools  were  the  creation  of  public  and  private 
patriotism,,  and  they  were  designed  only  for  dis- 
charged soldiers.  None  of  them  was  operated  in  con- 
nection with  a  military  hospital  except  the  National 
Institute,  another  school  in  Paris,  and  a  third  at 
Neuilly. 

Some  of  the  schools  soon  began  to  complain  of  lack 
of  pupils.  Not  that  there  was  a  scarcity  of  men 
proper  to  be  reeducated,  but  the  men,  especially  those 
who  had  been  discharged  from  the  hospitals  a  con- 
siderable length,  of  time,  would  not  take  the  training. 
Some  of  them  had  been  spoiled  and  demoralized  by 
the  adulation  of  friends  and  the  public;  they  con- 
sidered it  beneath  the  dignity  of  a  local  hero  to  go 
back  to  unheroic  work.  Others  thought  the  training 
a  war  service  and  flatly  declared  that  they  had  done 
enough.  More  feared  that  if  they  equipped  them- 
selves to  earn  more,  their  pensions  would  be  cut  down. 
Still  others,  after  the  excitement  of  army  life  and  the 
long  siege  in  the  hospital,  could  not  get  down  to 
matter-of-fact  existence  again.  There  had  not  yet 
crystallized  a  sound,  general,  public  sentiment  on  the 
subject  to  force  the  men  into  the  schools.  Having 
been  discharged  from  the  Army,  there  was  no  au- 
thority to  compel  these  men  to  take  the  training,  and 
thus  the  situation  was  rather  chaotic. 

It  was  found  that  the  men  who  were  approached  in 
the  hospital,  before  they  had  had  an  opportunity  to 
have  their  heads  turned  or  taste  of  the  sweets  of 
liberty,  idleness  and  adulation,  almost  invariably  re- 
sponded to  the  suggestion,  went  directly  from  the 
hospital  into  the  training  school,  and  pursued  the 

82 


SYSTEMATIC   DEVELOPMENT   IN   FRANCE 

courses  with  diligence  and  enthusiasm.  The  author- 
ities soon  became  convinced  that  vocational  training 
should  really  be  started  before  discharge  from  the 
hospital.  A  decree  of  June  2,  1916,  proceeded  to 
initiate  the  work  in  connection  with  the  large  physio- 
therapeutic  hospitals  and  amputation  depots,  and 
such  schools  as  were  in  existence  in  their  neighbor- 
hoods were  annexed  to  the  hospitals.  The  Govern- 
ment also  began  at  once  the  policy  of  establishing 
hospitals  of  physiotherapy  in  connection  with  each 
reeducational  school  of  sufficient  importance  to  war- 
rant such  an  installation.  After  schools  were  organ- 
ized in  connection  with  the  hospitals,  it  became  easier 
to  get  pupils,  and  now  practically  all  of  the  men  who 
are  offered  the  opportunity  of  taking  a  course  of  re- 
education are  delighted  to  do  so.  Thus  is  demon- 
strated the  value  of  starting  the  work  of  restoration 
before  the  patient  has  a  chance  to  gain  the  idea  that 
he  should  be  immune  from  work,  or  should  be  pre- 
sented with  a  sinecure  government  position  in  which 
he  can  loaf  comfortably  for  the  remainder  of  his  life. 
The  great  diversity  of  control,  financial  arrange- 
ments, and  the  like  was  found  very  confusing,  and  in 
March,  1916,  a  National  Office  for  dealing  with  the 
war  wounded  and  disabled  was  created.  The  head- 
quarters were  located  in  Paris,  and  suboffices  were 
established  in  the  80  and  more  administrative  dis- 
tricts of  the  Republic.  The  National  Office  was  the 
result  of  an  interdepartmental  decree  in  which  the 
Ministries  of  War,  Labor,  and  the  Interior  partici- 
pated. The  Paris  office  coordinates  generally  the  work 
of  reeducation;  the  departmental  offices  see  that  the 
work  proceeds  in  accordance  with  the  general  plan. 

83 


EEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

The  general  scheme  of  the  work  in  France  has  now 
definitely  settled  into  a  programme  arranged  by  the 
National  Office.  In  every  important  region  of  the 
Eepublic  a  "  center  of  readaptation  "  has  been  estab- 
lished. This  center  is  not  localized,  but  is  distributed 
over  several  towns  and  cities.  It  comprises  a  hospital 
of  physiotherapy,  where  treatment  is  given  and 
fundamental  functional  reeducation  applied ;  an  in- 
stitution where  artificial  limbs  are  made,  distributed 
and  adjusted ;  and  a  school  or  schools  where  reeduca- 
tion is  provided  in  trade,  commercial  and  agricultural 
subjects.  There  are  now  over  30  of  these  centers. 

A  wounded  man  needing  functional  treatment  is 
sent  from  the  general  hospital  to  a  physiotherapeutic 
hospital,  preferably  the  one  nearest  his  home.  In  each 
of  the  11  military  regions  there  are  hospitals  of 
physiotherapy  with  vocational  training  schools  an- 
nexed. While  undergoing  the  prescribed  treatment, 
the  patient  at  the  same  time  commences  his  trade 
education.  One  of  the  difficulties  encountered  was 
that  at  the  conclusion  of  his  treatment  he  expected  his 
discharge,  and  this  obtained,  it  was  often  very  diffi- 
cult, if  not  impossible,  to  hold  the  man  to  finish  his 
education.  This  has  been  met  by  holding  up  the 
discharge  until  the  man  has  completed  his  course  of 
training. 

A  registry  is  kept  of  every  disabled  soldier.  A 
blank  is  filled  in  by  the  hospital  authorities  where  he 
is  first  received  after  his  injury,  and  again  before  the 
patient  leaves.  This  shows  the  man's  residence,  his 
dependents,  his  civil  or  military  status,  his  education, 
the  nature  of  his  disability,  his  former  occupation, 
reeducation  if  any,  and  the  nature  of  the  employment 

84 


SYSTEMATIC  DEVELOPMENT   IN  FRANCE 

desired.  The  filled  blank  and  a  card  with  ' '  medical 
observations,"  describing  the  man's  needs  for  arti- 
ficial limbs  or  further  treatment,  if  any,  and  his 
capacity  for  vocational  reeducation,  are  filed  with  the 
National  Office.  "When  a  man  finds  employment,  a 
placement  card  relative  to  his  situation  makes  the 
record  complete. 

The  departmental  committees,  composed  of  local 
representatives  of  the  Ministries  of  Labor,  War,  Edu- 
cation, and  Agriculture,  together  with  other  members 
appointed  by  the  prefect  of  the  department,  who  is 
ex  officio  the  president,  exist  for  the  purpose  of  look- 
ing after  the  men  arriving  in  the  particular  depart- 
ments or  provinces.  These  committees  see  that  the 
wounded  soldier  receives  the  training  best  suited  for 
him.  As  taking  up  the  work  is  purely  voluntary  on 
the  part  of  the  wounded  man,  members  of  the  com- 
mittee of  his  department  call  upon  him  and  impress 
upon  him  the  advantage  to  be  derived  from  the  op- 
portunity, and  in  some  instances  his  relatives  are  sent 
for  to  consult  with  him  and  urge  him  to  agree  to 
retraining.  Effort  is  always  made  to  get  a  man  of  the 
same  trade  as  the  injured  to  call  upon  him  and  con- 
vince him  of  the  probability  of  his  making  a  good 
living,  notwithstanding  his  handicap,  if  he  will  take 
the  reeducation. 

The  schools  that  exist  solely  for  the  discharged 
soldiers  have  found  much  difficulty  in  getting  the 
men  to  take  up  training.  Advertisements  in  papers, 
handbills,  post  cards,  notices  in  hospitatls,  and  a 
booklet  issued  by  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior  and 
presented  to  each  discharged  man  are  used,  and  the 
mayors  of  towns  and  the  prefects  of  departments  are 

85 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

urged  to  impress  upon  these  men  the  value  of  train- 
ing. It  has  been  found,  nevertheless,  to  be  a  most 
difficult  matter  to  get  them  into  the  reeducational 
work  once  they  have  got  away. 

The  men  are  maintained  free  in  the  schools  an- 
nexed to  the  hospitals,  and  the  regular  Army  separa- 
tion allowance  to  the  families  is  continued  during 
training  and  before  the  pension  begins,  on  final  dis- 
charge. In  some  of  the  schools  wages  are  paid,  be- 
ginning with  50  centimes  or  one  franc  a  day,  and  later 
reaching  four  to  six  francs  a  day.  In  others,  the 
product  of  the  workshop  is  sold  and  the  proceeds,  less 
the  cost  of  the  raw  materials,  are  divided  among  the 
workmen.  At  St.  Maurice  half  the  amount  earned 
is  paid  out  every  fortnight ;  the  other  half  is  retained 
and  paid  to  the  man  when  he  finishes.  At  Tourveille 
the  value  of  the  labor  on  the  articles  made  is  paid  for 
whether  the  articles  are  sold  or  not,  the  money  being 
divided  among  the  workmen  at  the  end  of  the  month 
according  to  their  productive  capacity.  The  men 
are  encouraged  to  save  half  of  this  in  order  to  have 
a  small  capital  on  leaving.  Other  schools  have  varia- 
tions of  these  two  plans. 

The  matter  of  discipline  in  the  French  schools  is 
the  acme  of  simplicity.  The  director  of  the  National 
School  at  Montpelier  defines  it  as  follows : 

Every  pupil  whose  conduct,  work  or  attitude  of  mind 
does  not  give  satisfaction  is  sent  away.  If  a  pupil  could 
commit  any  fault  and  give  a  bad  example  to  others  at  the 
price  of  a  mere  reprimand,  the  school  would  not  be  what 
we  want  it  to  be.  There  are  no  punishments  and  there 
should  be  none.  Every  new  pupil  is  given  this  explanation 
of  the  school,  and  is  made  to  understand  its  full  signifi- 
cance. 

86 


SYSTEMATIC   DEVELOPMENT   IN   FRANCE 

This  school  is  neither  a  barracks  nor  a  college,  nor  a 
workshop  of  the  kind  you  have  known  in  the  past.  It  is 
an  institution  established  by  philanthropists  to  teach  dis- 
abled men  how  to  make  an  honorable  living.  You  will  be 
boarded,  lodged,  clothed  and  instructed,  all  at  the  cost  of 
the  institution.  If  you  are  industrious  and  become  a  good 
workman,  we  will  try  to  find  a  position  for  you  or  help  you 
to  set  up  your  own  shop. 

In  return  we  demand  only  two  things:  that  you  work 
industriously,  and  that  you  have  the  right  spirit.  If  a  man 
forgets  he  is  here  for  work,  he  must  go.  Here  are  no  pun- 
ishments. You  are  not  obliged  to  come :  we  are  not  obliged 
to  take  you.  If  we  are  not  satisfied  with  you,  we  will  send 
you  away  and  give  your  place  to  a  more  earnest  pupil.  But 
if  you  do  your  best,  we  will  aid  you  with  all  the  means  in 
our  power. 

Sometimes,  in  order  to  be  fair  and  to  make  certain 
of  justice,  a  warning  is  given,  and  in  a  few  instances, 
a  repetition  with  deprivations  of  leave,  but  in  the 
main  the  attitude  defined  above  prevails  and  no 
trifling  is  tolerated,  for  preparing  for  the  battles  of 
peace  with  shattered  forces  is  quite  as  earnest  a  busi- 
ness as  that  of  preparing  for  war. 

The  departmental  committee  also  has  the  duty  of 
investigating  the  labor  situation.  Bureaus  of  in- 
formation have  been  opened  for  maimed  men  on  all 
matters  affecting  their  interest  or  advantage.  Ex- 
tensive inquiries  among  placement  agencies,  labor 
inspectors,  manufacturers  and  other  employers  have 
enabled  the  National  Office  to  compile  a  list  of  oc- 
cupations possible  for  men  of  various  disabilities  and 
a  list  of  disabilities  compatible  with  different  occupa- 
tions. This  survey  disclosed  many  instances  of  men 
injured  in  the  industrial  field  making  good  livings 
notwithstanding  their  handicaps,  and  the  examples 

87 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

are  used  to  arouse  the  emulation  of  wounded  soldiers. 
Large  industrial  plants  are  asked  to  put  in  special 
workshops  for  war  cripples,  where  they  can  serve 
apprenticeship  at  their  old  trades  or  new  ones. 

In  the  larger  schools  the  training  offered  is  divided 
into  instruction  in  manual  trades,  office  work,  and 
general  schooling.  Figures  show  that  the  manual 
trades  most  in  demand  are  shoemaking,  tailoring, 
basketry,  harnessmaking,  saddlery,  tinsmithing  and 
carpentry.  The  reason  for  the  popularity  of  these 
trades  is  that  they  will  afford  a  living  almost  any- 
where, in  the  city  or  in  a  tiny  village.  They  do  not 
require  expensive  equipment,  and  they  are  the  trades 
selected  by  the  men  themselves.  Most  of  the  soldiers 
are  from  villages  and  small  towns,  and  these  desire  to 
acquire  a  trade  that,  when  eked  out  with  their  pen- 
sions, will  give  a  good  living  and  yet  not  be  too  exact- 
ing. These  men  will  open  shops  in  their  homes,  and 
have  time  also  to  work  in  the  garden,  cultivate  their 
tiny  farm  patches,  and  attend  their  vines. 

Among  other  trades  taught  are  those  of  mechanic, 
typography,  lithography,  typefounding,  bookbinding, 
the  manufacture  of  artificial  limbs,  expert  workers  in 
wood,  iron  and  leather,  locksmith,  brushmaking,  toy 
and  paper-box  making,  oxy-acetylene  and  electrical 
welding,  metal  and  wood  turning,  electricians,  mould 
making  and  stucco  work,  carriage  and  vehicle  paint- 
ing, upholstery,  fur  work,  photography,  jewelry  mak- 
ing, diamond  cutting,  sabot  and  galoche  making, 
stone  carving,  hairdressing,  dental  mechanics,  wireless 
telegraphy,  and  many  others. 

Several  of  these  trades  are  being  emphasized  on 
account  of  the  number  of  Germans  engaged  in  them 

88 


SYSTEMATIC  DEVELOPMENT   IN  FRANCE 

prior  to  the  war.  As  the  Germans  have  been  either 
killed  in  battle  or  sent  back  to  Germany  and  will  not 
find  France  a  congenial  place  of  sojourn  for  many 
years  to  come,  the  vacancy  in  these  industries  is  going 
to  be  taken  advantage  of.  In  various  districts  where 
particular  industries  prevail,  men  are  being  instructed 
in  them,  such  as  diamond  cutting  at  St.  Claud,  and 
the  celluloid  industry  at  Oyonnaux. 

The  officials  are  having  a  great  deal  of  difficulty  in 
persuading  the  wounded  men  from  taking  up  the 
commercial  lines,  and  in  showing  them  that  there  is 
infinitely  better  chance  of  profitable  employment  in 
the  trades.  It  seems  to  be  the  consuming  ambition 
of  the  majority  of  disabled  workmen  to  become  clerks. 
There  are  courses  to  fit  these  men,  and  if  they  insist, 
they  are  given  them. 

There  is  now  a  healthy  public  sentiment  in  France 
against  the  injured  man's  remaining  merely  a  pen- 
sioned idler  or  a  seeker  of  sinecures  under  the  Gov- 
ernment, and  the  number  of  men  who  do  not  take 
reeducation,  either  immediately  or  after  going  out 
and  finding  that  the  aimless  existence  does  not  meet 
the  approval  of  friends  or  the  public,  is  growing  con- 
stantly smaller.  As  time  goes  on,  the  work  becomes 
more  efficient  and  better  organized,  and  France  is  now 
one  of  the  leaders  among  the  nations  who  are  taking 
care  of  the  war  wounded  and  refitting  them  for  lives 
of  usefulness. 

Some  idea  of  the  French  loss  in  man  power  and 
the  number  out  of  which  those  requiring  retraining 
came  is  given  in  a  statement  by  Deputy  Lucien  Voilin 
in  the  French  Chamber  of  Deputies  on  December  20, 
1918.  During  the  course  of  a  debate  and  interpella- 

89 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

tion  of  the  Government  on  problems  of  demobilization, 
lie  said: 

I  betray  no  secret  when  I  say  that  the  problem  of 
demobilization  presents  itself  thus:  We  have  mobilized 
6,900,000  men.  We  have  had  about  1,400,000  killed  —  in 
which  are  included  deaths  from  disease  and  wounds  —  total 
casualties  resulting  in  death.  We  have  800,000  who  have 
recovered  from  wounds. 

The  French  High  Commission  to  the  United  States 
on  January  14, 1919,  authorized  the  publication  of  the 
following  statement  of  French  losses  up  to  November 
1,1918: 

Dead  (killed  in  action  and  dead  of  wounds) 1,028,800 

Missing  (given  up  for  lost) 299,000 

Total  (Colonial  troops  not  included) 1,327,800 

Colonial  troops: 

Dead 42,500 

Missing 15,000 


Grand  total  of  dead  and  missing 1,385,300 

Wounded  (about) 3,000,000 

[Of    which    700,000    crippled    and    pen- 
sioned.     To  this  figure  must  be  added  a 
great   number   of   the   435,000    Frenchmen 
war  prisoners  henceforth  unfit  to  work.] 
Grand  total  of  French  casualties 4,385,300 


90 


CHAPTER  VIII 

EVOLUTION   OP  THE  BRITISH  SYSTEM 

British  policy  generous  to  the  disabled  of  the  war  —  Revolution- 
ary abandonment  of  pre-war  conceptions  —  The  new  pro- 
gramme —  Utilization  of  existing  agencies  —  Coordina- 
tion under  State  control  —  Statutory  Committee  of  the 
Royal  Patriotic  Fund  Corporation  and  its  local  committees 

—  Ministry  of  Pensions  and  the  Special  Grants  Committee 

—  Functions  of  local  committees  —  Advisory  trade  com- 
mittees for  training  and  placement  —  Extreme  flexibility 
of  the  system. 

Present  British  policy  in  regard  to  the  after-care 
of  disabled  soldiers  and  sailors  may  fairly  be  defined 
as  a  policy  of  seeing  the  disabled  man  and  his  family 
"all  the  way  back  "  to  his  pre-war  economic  status 
or  to  a  condition  approximating  it  as  nearly  as  pos- 
sible, the  process  of  restoration  being  guaranteed, 
directed,  and,  to  the  extent  necessary,  financed  by 
the  State. 

It  may  be  pointed  out  that  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciple in  accordance  with  which  this  policy  has  been 
developed  has  not  been  generally  understood  or  ac- 
cepted on  the  Continent.  There  it  is  argued  that 
compensation  for  the  loss  of  an  arm  or  a  leg  or  an 
eye  or  for  any  other  injury  should  be  proportioned  in 
each  instance  to  the  disability  without  regard  to  pre- 
war earnings.  In  the  case  of  any  given  injury,  since 
the  hurt  is  absolute,  the  compensation  should  be  un- 
varying; "for  the  same  hurt  there  should  always  be 
the  same  compensation."  Kemarking  upon  this  dif- 
ference in  conception  between  Britisher  and  Con- 

91 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

tinental,  Sir  Arthur  Griffith-Boscawen  doubts  that 
the  Continentals  "will  ever  appreciate  our  stand- 
point any  more  than  we  shall  subscribe  to  their 
doctrine  of  abstract  egalite." 

The  French  conception  of  justice,  or  rather  the 
conception  more  consistent  with  the  French  than  with 
the  British  policy,  seems  to  underlie  our  own  pro- 
cedure in  the  United  States,  where,  under  the  law, 
compensation  for  disability  is  assessed  without  regard 
to  military  rank  or  pre-war  earnings.  In  this  re- 
spect it  may  be  felt  that  the  British  policy  of  complete 
restoration  is  rather  less  democratic  than  our  own, 
since  it  recognizes  social  status ;  but  it  may  fairly  be 
contended  in  defense  of  the  British  policy  that,  grant- 
ing it  to  be  more  conservative,  it  is  at  the  same  time 
more  liberal  in  its  provisions  than  any  of  the  Con- 
tinental policies.  The  private  does  not  get  less,  al- 
though the  officer  may  get  more.  It  may  be  noted 
also  that  in  our  own  compensation  law,  the  flat-rate 
scale  of  payments  was  determined  by  eliminating 
from  the  original  bill  a  provision  for  higher  com- 
pensation for  officers  without  increasing  the  com- 
pensation proposed  for  privates,  the  final  scale 
adopted  being,  in  fact,  somewhat  below  that  provided 
for  privates  in  the  bill  as  originally  drawn. 

In  any  case,  judged  by  conventional,  pre-wrar 
British  social  philosophy  regarding  the  State's  obli- 
gation in  provision  for  the  disabled,  the  present  policy 
of  seeing  the  men  "all  the  way  back"  is  nothing  less 
than  revolutionary.  Traditionally  in  Great  Britain 
the  after-care  of  disabled  soldiers  and  sailors  has  been 
principally  an  affair  of  private  initiative  and  of  pri- 
vate financial  support.  Pensions  and  allowances  have 

92 


been  granted  by  the  State,  but  they  have  been  ad- 
mittedly inadequate  and,  indeed,  have  been  kept  so 
as  a  matter  of  public  policy,  which  has  proceeded 
upon  the  assumption  that  the  inadequate  grants  by 
the  State  would  be  and  might  better  be  supplemented 
out  of  private  funds.  While  this  more  or  less 
orthodox  social  philosophy  fell  away  almost  imme- 
diately upon  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  the  institutions 
and  funds  built  up  under  the  old  regime  continued 
to  function  as  very  real  factors  in  the  new  social 
order.  The  persistence  of  old  institutions  represent- 
ing a  social  philosophy  which  had  been  discarded  ex- 
plains many  original  inconsistencies  in  the  British 
system,  which,  in  its  initial  stages,  was  characterized 
as  "the  mere  product  of  chronology,"  and,  in  con- 
sequence, ' '  complicated  and  chaotic. ' ' 

State  provision  for  the  invalided  before  the  Great 
"War  had  embraced  as  its  principal  benefits,  a  small 
pension,  and  in  the  case  of  a  crippled  man,  an  arti- 
ficial limb.  Beyond  this  the  State  frankly  disclaimed 
responsibility.  "The  old  plan  had  been,"  in  the 
words  of  Sir  Arthur  Griffith-Boscawen,  "to  award  or 
refuse  a  pension  to  the  man,  as  the  case  might  be,  and 
to  turn  him  adrift."  Established  private  agencies 
undertook  any  further  provision  made  in  compliance 
with  the  community's  humane  regard  for  the  welfare 
of  the  disabled. 

"Marrying  on  the  strength,"  that  is  to  say,  while 
in  service,  seems  to  have  been  rather  bad  form  in  the 
pre-war  period.  Britain's  regular  army  was  not  only 
numerically  insignificant,  judged  by  present  stand- 
ards, but  was  largely  an  army  of  celibates  enlisted  as 
professional  soldiers.  The  invalided  Tommy  Atkins 

93 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

might  himself  become  a  public  charge  or  a  charge 
upon  private  philanthropy,  but  his  dependents  did 
not  generally  include  a  wife  and  children.  It  is 
very  different  now,  as  may  be  inferred  from  the  state- 
ment that  the  number  of  wives  on  the  "War  Office 
payrolls  increased  during  the  first  two  years  of  the 
war  from  a  few  hundred  to  over  a  million. 

The  Tommy  Atkins  of  Britain's  expeditionary 
forces  today  is  not  a  man  permanently  set  apart  from 
civilian  interests  and  responsibilities.  He  has  as- 
sumed the  uniform  and  taken  up  the  trade  of  war  in 
a  world  crisis.  Uniform  and  tradition  will  be  dis- 
carded when  peace  is  concluded,  and  the  soldier  or 
sailor,  the  fit  and  the  unfit,  will  seek  to  return  to  civil 
employment.  The  State  has  recognized  the  inade- 
quacy of  private  philanthropy;  one  may  even  say 
that  it  has  recognized  also  the  discredit  which  would 
attach  to  a  policy  of  relying  upon  private  philan- 
thropy to  achieve  the  reinstatement  of  these  men  in 
civil  employments.  Especially  has  it  recognized  its 
full  responsibility  for  the  complete  restoration  of  the 
disabled. 

As  early  as  February,  1915,  an  official  report  on  the 
provision  of  employment  for  disabled  men  expressed 
the  opinion  that  the  care  of  such  men  "is  an  obliga- 
tion which  should  fall  primarily  upon  the  State, ' '  and 
that  this  provision  should  embrace  not  only  restora- 
tion to  health,  but  assistance  to  enable"  the  disabled 
man  "to  earn  his  living  in  the  occupation  best  suited 
to  his  circumstances  and  physical  condition. ' '  In  this 
work,  it  was  felt,  best  results  could  be  achieved  by 
full  cooperation  of  all  agencies,  public  and  private, 
under  State  administration  and  support.  The  report 

94 


EVOLUTION  OP  THE  BRITISH  SYSTEM 

recommended  the  establishment  of  a  central  com- 
mittee and  of  local  subcommittees  which  should  co- 
ordinate the  activities  of  public  and  private  agencies 
and  make  such  new  provision  for  treatment  and  voca- 
tional training  as  might  be  required.  The  recom- 
mendations of  the  report  were  as  follows : 

I.  The  care  of  the  soldiers  and  sailors  should  be  assumed 
by  the  State. 

II.  This  duty  should  include: 

(a)  The  restoration   of  the  man's  health  where 

practicable ; 

(b)  The  provision  of  training  facilities  if  he  de- 

sires to  learn  a  new  trade; 

(c)  The  finding  of  employment  for  him  when  he 

stands  in  need  of  such  assistance. 

III.  For  the  discharge  of  these  duties,  a  central  com- 
mitte  should  be  appointed  and  empowered  to  act,  either 
through  the  agency  of  the  appropriate  public  department, 
or  independently  as  the  case  might  require. 

IV.  The  central  committee  should  have  the  assistance  of 
subcommittees  for  Ireland  and  Scotland,  and  local  commit- 
tees in  any  part  of  the  United  Kingdom  where  the  circum- 
stances justify  the  establishment  of  such  an  organization. 

The  central  committee,  known  as  the  Statutory 
Committee,  appointed  in  accordance  with  these  recom- 
mendations, declared  its  acceptance  of  the  principle 
that  men  whose  health  and  earning  powers  had  been 
impaired  were  ' '  entitled  to  such  training  or  continued 
treatment  as  will  restore  them,  as  far  as  possible,  to 
normal  health  and  earning  powers."  The  principle 
of  reestablishing  the  pre-war  status  has  been  carried 
even  to  the  extent  of  providing  in  certain  cases  an 
allowance  to  cover  anticipated  earnings  of  a  man  who 
at  the  date  of  his  enlistment  was  undergoing  a  period 
of  training  or  apprenticeship. 

95 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

The  principal  pre-war  agency  of  after-care  work 
was  the  Koyal  Patriotic  Fund  Corporation,  which  held 
in  trust  the  Koyal  Patriotic  Fund,  an  amalgamation 
of  private  charitable  funds,  dating  back  in  its  origin 
to  the  Crimean  War,  and  administered  in  the  interest 
of  disabled  soldiers '  and  sailors '  widows  and  orphans. 
The  grants  by  this  corporation  were  supplementary  to 
State  awards  of  pensions  and  allowances.  The  In- 
corporated Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Help  Society,  estab- 
lished at  the  close  of  the  South  African  "War,  and  the 
Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Families  Association  also  were 
actively  engaged  in  the  field  of  after-care  work  for 
disabled  men  and  their  dependents.  The  services, 
resources  and  experience  of  these  and  other  agencies 
have  been  fully  utilized  and  coordinated  during  the 
war  in  Europe. 

One  enterprise  of  the  Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Help 
Society  is  deserving  of  special  mention.  This  Society 
has  established  workshops  for  disabled  men  unable  to 
compete  in  the  open  labor  market.  Handicapped 
soldiers  and  sailors  and  their  dependents  are  taught 
trades  and  are  employed  in  these  shops,  which,  in 
recognition  of  Lord  Roberts 's  interest  in  the  enter- 
prise, have  come  to  be  known  as  the  Lord  Roberts 
Memorial  Workshops.  The  shops  are  organized 
primarily  to  provide  employment  rather  than  train- 
ing, and  to  provide  rather  for  those  who  cannot  com- 
pete than  for  those  who  can  be  made  by  training  100 
per  cent,  efficient  in  some  trade. 

Under  an  Act  of  1909  there  had  been  built  up  in 
Great  Britain  a  national  system  of  labor  exchanges 
extending  to  every  section  of  the  country.  These, 
originally  under  the  Board  of  Trade  and  subsequently 

96 


EVOLUTION  OF  THE  BRITISH  SYSTEM 

in  the  Ministry  of  Labor,  have  cooperated  with  the 
newly  created  Ministry  of  Pensions  in  the  work  of 
placing  disabled  men  in  factories  and  workshops  un- 
der fair  conditions  of  remuneration. 

The  Military  and  Naval  War  Pensions  Act  of  1915 
provided  the  fundamental  law  upon  which  the  present 
State  system  for  after-care  has  been  developed.  This 
statute  denned  large  discretionary  powers  to  be  exer- 
cised by  the  administrative  agencies  created  by  the 
Act,  and  under  it  Royal  warrants  and  executive  regu- 
lations have  been  issued  which  give  definition  and 
form  to  the  State's  policy.  In  its  executive  capacity 
the  State  appears,  not  only  as  administrator  of  State 
funds  made  available  in  such  amounts  as  are  required, 
but  also  as  supreme  coordinator  of  every  social  effort 
in  behalf  of  disabled  men. 

The  Act  created  the  Statutory  Committee  for  ad- 
ministration of  the  Royal  Patriotic  Fund  —  a  com- 
mittee of  27  members  representing  various  offices  and 
associations  under  appointments  by  the  Crown,  the 
War  Office,  the  Admiralty,  and  other  Government 
offices,  by  the  Royal  Patriotic  Fund  Corporation,  and 
by  the  Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Families  Association. 
The  Act  provided  that  the  Statutory  Committee 
should  establish  local  committees,  one  in  each  county 
or  equivalent  area  or  subdivision  of  a  county,  and 
one  in  each  urban  district  of  5,000  population  whose 
council  so  desired,  and  upon  request  in  smaller  urban 
districts  at  its  discretion.  Some  300  local  committees 
have  been  set  up. 

In  1916  the  Act  creating  the  Ministry  of  Pensions 
brought  the  Statutory  Committee  with  its  entire  sys- 
tem of  local  committees  under  control  of  the  new 

97 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

Ministry.  By  the  Military  and  Naval  War  Pensions 
Act  of  August  21,  1917,  the  Statutory  Committee  was 
dissolved,  and  the  Minister  of  Pensions  was  instructed 
to  organize  a  new  committee  of  12  members  to  be 
known  as  the  Special  Grants  Committee.  Some  of 
the  functions  of  the  old  Statutory  Committee  were 
transferred  to  the  new  Special  Grants  Committee, 
and  some  were  assumed  direct  by  the  Ministry  of 
Pensions.  The  latter,  and  the  Local  "War  Pensions 
Committees,  are  ' '  charged  with  the  medical  treatment 
or  training  for  industrial  life  that  a  discharged  soldier 
may  need. ' ' 

In  the  country  as  a  whole  the  Ministry  of  Pensions 
and  the  Special  Grants  Committee,  and  in  local  areas 
the  local  committees,  are  the  agencies  of  coordination 
of  all  after-care  work  for  disabled  men.  These  com- 
mittees are  organized  by  local  county  councils  in 
accordance  with  schemes  approved  by  the  Minister  of 
Pensions,  and  their  membership  is  made  representa- 
tive of  different  local  agencies,  even  the  disabled  men 
themselves  being  represented.  In  order  to  provide 
more  adequately  for  the  diverse  needs  of  the  men, 
joint  committees  have  been  formed,  composed  of  rep- 
resentatives of  the  local  committees  in  a  county  or 
group  of  counties.  Under  the  administration  of  these 
joint  committees,  the  resources  of  larger  areas  are 
made  available  to  the  local  committees  operating 
within  those  areas. 

Three  weeks  before  the  disabled  man  is  discharged 
from  the  local  hospital  as  unfit  for  further  service, 
he  is  visited  by  a  representative  of  the  local  com- 
mittee of  the  district  in  which  the  hospital  is  located, 
and  facts  regarding  his  condition,  capacities,  handi- 

98 


EVOLUTION  OF  THE  BRITISH  SYSTEM 

cap,  former  employment,  and  need  for  training  are 
recorded  and  forwarded  to  the  local  committee  in  the 
man's  home  district,  together  with  a  medical  state- 
ment regarding  his  need  for  further  treatment. 
"When  the  man  is  discharged,  the  home  committee 
undertakes  to  arrange  for  such  treatment  and  train- 
ing as  may  be  necessary.  The  man  is  not  compelled 
to  take  training  or  treatment,  but  if  he  refuses  to 
take  the  treatment  recommended,  half  his  pension  may 
be  withheld.  He  may  have  received  some  vocational 
training  given  as  a  therapeutic  measure  during  con- 
valescence in  the  hospital  before  discharge  from  the 
service. 

After  training  is  completed,  the  problem  of  place- 
ment is  taken  up.  In  each  case  the  training  has  been 
recommended  with  a  view  to  arranging  for  final  place- 
ment in  a  wage-earning  pursuit.  The  man  is  not  en- 
couraged to  train  for  any  employment  he  may  fancy 
unless  it  offers  good  promise  of  permanent  employ- 
ment in  the  home  community.  When  the  training 
has  been  given  in  a  workshop,  it  has  been  with  the 
expectation  that  the  man  will  be  employed  perma- 
nently in  the  shop.  Some  technical  institutions  have 
been  acting  on  their  own  initiative  in  placing  men 
when  they  have  been  trained,  and  the  labor  exchanges 
may  be  utilized  for  this  purpose.  Generally  little 
difficulty  has  been  encountered  in  placing  men.  Em- 
ployers have  cooperated  freely,  and  under  present 
conditions  demand  is  active  for  labor  to  supply  the 
places  of  those  who  have  been  withdrawn  from  civilian 
pursuits  to  render  war  service. 

Liability-insurance  companies  have  undertaken  to 
insure  employers  who  take  on  handicapped  men 

99 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

against  accidents  to  their  employees  without  increas- 
ing premium  charges  on  account  of  the  employment 
of  such  men.  The  companies  thus  assume  any  added 
cost  of  insurance  arising  from  the  increased  hazard 
to  the  disabled  man  himself  or  to  his  fellows  which  the 
the  disability  involves,  and  by  taking  this  action  they 
have  greatly  facilitated  the  placement  of  retrained 
men. 

Cooperation  between  the  Ministry  of  Pensions  and 
other  central  offices  is  systematically  promoted.  The 
Ministry  of  Labor  has  cooperated  in  "arrangements 
for  establishment  of  trade  advisory  boards  and  com- 
mittees, and  for  inquiries  into  different  forms  of  em- 
ployments" that  would  be  suitable  for  the  training 
of  disabled  men  and  that  would  give  fair  prospects 
of  remunerative  and  steady  employment.  The  labor 
exchanges  of  this  Ministry  aid  in  placing  trained  men. 
The  Board  of  Education  cooperates  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  training  in  technical  schools,  and  the  Board 
of  Agriculture  in  the  "admission  of  disabled  men  to 
the  agricultural  training  in  colleges,"  and  in  advis 
ing  upon  "schools  of  training  on  farms"  and  upon 
settlement  in  farm  colonies.  Arrangements  have  been 
made  with  the  Post  Office  for  weekly  payment  of  pen- 
sions and  allowances  by  postal  drafts.  The  Local 
Government  Board  has  given  assistance  in  various 
ways. 

Under  direction  of  the  Ministry  of  Pensions,  the 
local  committees  control  expenditure  of  the  public 
moneys  available  and  of  such  private  funds  as  are 
locally  subscribed,  and  it  is  principally  through  the 
local  committees  that  the  appeals  are  made  for  volun- 
tary subscriptions.  It  is  still  true  that  the  flat-rate 

100 


EVOLUTION  OF  THE  BRITISH  SYSTEM 

schedule  of  pensions  and  allowances  in  accordance 
with  which  grants  are  made  by  the  Admiralty  and 
the  War  Office  does  not  provide  for  or  take  into 
account  individual  needs,  except  as  these  needs  are 
assumed  to  be  fairly  represented  in  the  schedule. 
Individual  cases  of  hardship  are  dealt  with  by  the 
Special  Grants  Committee  and  the  local  war-pensions 
committees,  which  may  provide  such  supplementary 
grants  as  are  required  for  treatment  or  training. 

Great  care  is  taken  to  inform  the  men  that  their 
State  disability  pensions  will  not  be  reduced  by  their 
taking  training  and  so  increasing  their  wage-earning 
power.  The  pension,  once  determined,  is  permanent 
and  cannot  be  diminished.  It  may  result,  and  in  indi- 
vidual cases  often  does,  that  the  pension,  added  to  the 
wage  of  the  disabled  man  who  has  been  retrained, 
provides  an  income  greater  than  that  which  he  was 
earning  before  the  war,  and  it  is  believed  that  the 
proportion  of  such  cases  may  be  large. 

Advisory  bodies  for  assisting  the  Ministry  of  Pen- 
sions and  the  local  committees  in  training  and  place- 
ment work  have  been  organized  locally  and  nationally. 
Trade  advisory  committees  have  been  set  up  jointly 
by  the  Ministry  of  Pensions  and  the  Ministry  of  Labor 
in  the  principal  trades  for  which  training  is  under- 
taken. These  committees  include  in  equal  numbers 
representatives  of  employers  and  labor  and  one  repre- 
sentative each  of  the  two  Ministries.  They  advise 
"as  to  conditions  under  which  the  training  of  dis- 
abled men  in  the  trade  can  be  best  given;  the  best 
methods  of  training,  the  suitable  centers  for  it,  and 
generally  how  to  secure  uniformity  in  training."  In 
trade  centers  local  committees  become  known  as 

101 


EEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

technical  advisory  committees,  having  been  set  up  by 
the  Central  Trade  Advisory  Committee  to  advise  the 
local  war-pensions  committee  regarding  suitable  local 
schemes  for  training  individual  men  and  the  prospects 
of  their  employment  after  training.  These  com- 
mittees also  are  made  up  of  employers  and  representa- 
tives of  labor. 

Local  advisory  wages  boards  also  have  been  set  up 
in  the  principal  industrial  centers  under  direction  of 
the  two  Ministries.  Each  board  is  under  a  chairman 
appointed  by  the  Ministry  of  Labor,  and  is  composed 
of  representatives  in  equal  numbers  of  employers  and 
of  labor,  together  with  not  more  than  three  members 
of  the  local  war-pensions  committee,  who  have  no  vote. 
The  advice  of  these  boards  may  be  sought  by  em- 
ployers, by  workmen  and  by  secretaries  of  local  com- 
mittees in  regard  to  the  adjustment  of  wages  in 
individual  cases. 

Great  Britain  is  thus  enmeshed  with  committees, 
and  one  result  of  the  committee  system  has  been  to 
arouse  interest  and  to  enlist  support  generally 
throughout  the  community.  Organized  labor  and  em- 
ployers of  labor  have  given  full  support  to  all 
schemes  for  training  and  placement  of  disabled  men, 
labor  insisting  only  that  such  schemes  shall  not  be 
operated  to  impair  union  wage  and  living  standards. 

While  general  instructions  have  been  issued  by  the 
Ministry  of  Pensions  covering  the  provision  of  train- 
ing for  disabled  men,  these  instructions,  it  is  felt,  are 
not  sufficiently  specific  for  all  trades.  Accordingly 
certain  trades  have  been  designated  "special  trades," 
and  for  them  detailed  instructions  have  been  issued. 
The  purpose  of  these  special  instructions  is  to  regu- 

102 


EVOLUTION  OF  THE  BRITISH  SYSTEM 

late  training  so  as  not  to  conflict  with  the  interests  of 
employers  or  of  labor.  The  number  of  men  trained 
for  each  trade  is  carefully  adjusted  to  the  capacity  of 
the  trade  to  absorb  the  new  men  without  disturbance 
of  established  standards.  The  character  of  the  train- 
ing and  the  length  of  the  course  are  specified  in  detail, 
as  are  the  fees  to  be  paid  by  the  Government  and,  in 
cases  where  the  training  is  given  by  employers  in 
workshops,  the  wages  to  be  paid  to  the  man  in  train- 
ing as  he  acquires  wage-earning  efficiency. 

Maintenance  allowances  to  the  men  and  their 
families  are  continued  during  training,  the  amount 
being  generally  regulated  so  -as  to  insure  that  the 
men  shall  not  be  financially  worse  off  for  taking 
instruction.  In  many  cases,  of  course,  they  are  much 
better  off  even  during  the  period  of  training  than  they 
would  have  been  if  they  had  not  taken  it,  since  they 
may  receive  allowances  during  that  time  such  as  would 
be  paid  in  cases  of  total  disability,  although  they  may 
be  quite  incapable  without  vocational  reeducation  of 
earning  wages  of  equal  amount. 

One  is  tempted  to  write  down  as  a  chief  character- 
istic of  the  British  system  that  very  lack  of  system 
which  has  been  designated  the  mere  product  of  chro- 
nology and  experience  rather  than  of  conscious  plan- 
ning. Expressed  more  fairly,  however,  the  chief 
characteristic  of  the  British  system  is  its  flexibility 
and  competency  to  deal  with  particular,  individual 
needs. 

This  element  of  flexibility  is  found  chiefly  in  the 
exercise  of  free  discretion  by  the  Ministry  of  Pensions 
in  approving  expenditures  covered  by  a  fund  placed 
at  the  disposal  of  the  Ministry,  and  in  the  relatively 

103 


EEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

free  exercise,  under  general  supervision,  of  judgment 
on  the  part  of  each  local  committee  in  arranging  and 
financing  out  of  public  or  voluntarily  subscribed 
funds  all  forms  of  after-care  work.  In  a  word,  the 
British  system  insures  the  highest  degree  of  flexibility 
in  adjustment  of  treatment  and  training  to  special, 
individual  needs,  by  making  ample  financial  provision 
in  the  form  of  a  central  State  fund  applicable  to  the 
support  of  any  scheme  of  training  approved  by  the 
Ministry  acting  through  the  local  committees;  by 
utilizing  all  voluntarily  supported  private  funds 
under  State  supervision ;  and  by  full  cooperation  of 
all  public  civil  offices,  central  and  local,  and  of  all 
private  agencies  under  supervision  of  central  and 
local  civil  authorities. 

Individual  needs  and  particular  conditions  obtain- 
ing locally  are  the  factors  chiefly  regarded,  and  finan- 
cial support  and  control  is  thus  found  for  very 
diverse  undertakings.  The  training  provided  may  be 
in  workshops,  under  supervision  and  in  conformity 
with  special  regulations,  or  it  may  be  in  regular  or 
special  classes  organized  in  technical  schools  or  in 
special  institutions  established  by  the  Government. 
No  rigid  general  plan  is  imposed  which  interferes 
with  any  special  provision  that  in  the  individual  case 
may  be  deemed  beneficial. 


104 


CHAPTER  IX 

RESTORATION  WORK  IN  THE  CENTRAL  EMPIRES 

Germany  well  equipped  for  rehabilitation  of  the  disabled  — 
German  Federation  for  the  Care  of  Cripples  —  Kesponsi- 
bility  evaded  by  the  Imperial  Government  —  State  and 
private  organization  —  The  restoration  programme  — 
Treatment  in  orthopaedic  hospitals  —  Nurnberg  hospital 
—  Dusseldorf  school  —  Schools  for  the  one-armed  — 
Placement  —  Percentage  of  cripples  restored  —  Estimate 
of  German  losses  —  Policy  of  Austria-Hungary  —  Vienna 
orthopaedic  hospital  and  schools  —  Policy  of  Austria  — 
Policy  of  Hungary  —  The  Invalidment. 

In  a  Government  so  highly  centralized  as  was  that 
of  Germany,  it  is  somewhat  surprising  to  find  the  posi- 
tion taken  that  reeducation  and  care  of  the  crippled 
soldier  are  not  a  governmental  function.  Eesponsi- 
bility  for  the  wounded  soldier,  in  so  far  as  he  requires 
physical  and  medical  care,  was  admitted  and  dis- 
charged, but  all  responsibility  for  reeducation  and 
return  to  civil  life  was  held  to  belong  to  private 
charity,  or  to  the  different  states  of  the  Empire,  if 
they  cared  to  assume  it. 

Germany  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  was  in  much 
better  condition  to  deal  with  the  problem  of  rehabili- 
tation than  any  of  the  other  belligerents.  For  many 
years  she  had  been  a  leader  in  orthopaedic  surgery 
and  the  rehabilitation  of  cripples,  and  possessed  many 
specialists  of  international  eminence  in  these  lines. 
She  possessed  also  a  society  of  long  standing,  the 
German  Federation  for  the  Care  of  Cripples,  whose 
membership  comprised  58  cripples'  homes,  some  of 

105 


EEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

which  had  a  century  of  service  behind  them.  There 
had  been  developed  during  the  last  half  century  54 
cripples'  homes,  ranging  in  size  from  six  to  300  beds. 
These  had  among  them  221  workshops,  teaching  51 
trades.  The  German  system  of  social  insurance  also 
had  devoted  much  study  to  the  treatment  and  re- 
education of  cripples.  The  sick-benefit  societies  and 
employers'  accident-insurance  associations  had  hos- 
pitals, which  were  also  available.  The  Ked  Cross 
established  orthopaedic  hospitals  at  centers  where 
needed,  and  in  1918  it  was  estimated  that  there  were 
200  institutions  of  the  sort  in  the  country,  amply 
adequate  to  care  for  all  war  cripples. 

A  few  days  after  war  was  declared,  at  the  request 
of  the  Empress,  the  cripples'  homes  threw  open  their 
doors  to  war  cripples.  The  director  of  the  Federa- 
tion began  a  tour  of  the  country  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Ked  Cross,  urging  the  formation  of  voluntary 
committees  for  the  care  of  war  cripples,  and  spread- 
ing the  doctrine  which  has  become  a  fundamental  of 
orthopaedic  treatment,  namely,  that  almost  any  crip- 
ple can  be  made  fit  to  work  again,  and  that  education 
for  work  should  be  the  regular  treatment.  Many 
volunteer  committees  were  formed  in  cities,  some  of 
the  states  and  provinces  formed  committees,  and  the 
work  was  started  under  various  auspices  and  plans. 

The  general  local  organization  had  so  far  pro- 
gressed that  the  Federation  called  a  conference  in 
February,  1915,  to  coordinate  the  work.  Officials  of 
the  various  states  and  provinces  and  representatives 
of  the  medical  profession,  teachers,  employers,  work- 
men, the  military  authorities,  large  social-welfare 
organizations,  the  Red  Cross,  sick-benefit  societies,  the 

106 


THE  CENTRAL  EMPIRES 

state  accident-insurance  associations,  and  so  on,  were 
present.  The  policy  of  the  Imperial  Government  was 
made  clear.  This  was,  in  brief,  that  the  Government, 
through  the  Ministry  of  War,  should  be  responsible 
for  the  wounded  soldier  in  so  far  as  he  required 
physical  care,  but  that  all  responsibility  for  reeduca- 
tion and  return  to  industrial  life  should  belong  to 
private  charity  or  to  the  different  states  of  the  Em- 
pire. There  was  a  great  deal  of  criticism  in  the  con- 
vention of  the  Government's  attitude,  but  as  late 
as  1918  there  had  been  no  change.  The  states,  prov- 
inces, local  communities  and  private  charity  had 
permanently  foisted  upon  them  the  burden  and  the 
duty  of  the  Imperial  Government  in  regard  to  the 
mutilated  men  who  had  been  injured  in  upholding  its 
cause. 

As  the  work  proceeded,  Army  aumorities  expressed 
great  appreciation,  and  promised  to  consult  with  the 
private  agencies  as  to  the  assignment  of  men  to  dif- 
ferent hospitals  and  not  to  remove  or  discharge  men 
suddenly,  without  regard  to  the  interests  of  their 
training.  They  also  promised  that  private  agencies 
should  have  facilities  for  visiting  the  hospitals  for 
teaching  and  vocational  advice,  and  that  Army  offi- 
cers should  be  instructed  to  cooperate  in  every  way. 
There  was  a  good  deal  of  friction  with  local  military 
authorities  and  many  difficulties  between  individual 
commanders  and  the  volunteer  agencies  in  their  dis- 
tricts, but  apparently  their  relations  were  finally 
adjusted. 

The  work  has  gone  forward  in  various  ways,  the 
Imperial  Government  always  evading  the  duty  and 
unloading  it  on  civilian,  local  and  state  charity  and 

107 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

sense  of  obligation.  Germany  has  26  states,  and  each 
state  has  its  provinces.  Bavaria  alone  of  the  states 
has  financed  and  entirely  directed  the  work  within  its 
borders,  with  the  aid  of  advisory  committees  of  local 
people  who  actually  help.  All  of  the  Prussian  prov- 
inces but  one,  which  means  about  half  of  Germany, 
have  initiated  and  directed  the  work,  but  with  private 
cooperation  and  support,  using  to  the  full  all  existing 
schools,  almshouses  and  _iospitals;  the  provinces 
furnished  the  funds  with  the  understanding  that  the 
Kingdom  of  Prussia,  and  ultimately  the  Imperial 
Government,  must  take  over  the  burden.  The  city 
of  Berlin  assumed  responsibility  for  its  own  cripples 
on  the  same  basis,  but  there  was  no  commitment  from 
the  Imperial  Government,  which  merely  donated  the 
entirely  inadequate  sum  of  5,000,000  marks. 

The  Imperial  Government  asserted  exclusive  respon- 
sibility for  medical  treatment,  through  the  Ministry 
of  War,  and  all  hospitals  where  wounded  receive 
treatment  were  under  military  authority  and  dis- 
cipline. 

The  principle  upon  which  rehabilitation  work  pro- 
ceeds1 is  that  practically  every  cripple  can  be  made  fit 
to  work  again.  This  is  accepted  in  Germany  as  a 
finality  on  the  subject..  The  director  of  the  Federa- 
tion for  the  Care  of  Cripples  asserts  that  from  90 
per  cent,  to  95  per  cent,  of  all  war  cripples  treated 
are  returned  to  industrial  life.  Dr.  Leo  Mayer 
states  that  of  400  cases  treated  at  the  hospital  of  Am 
Urban,  only  two  were  unable  to  go  back  to  work,  but 

i  The  discussion  following  relates  to  conditions  before  the 
signing  of  the  armistice:  the  status  of  the  restoration  work  in 
the  Central  Empires  since  that  time  is  unknown. 

108 


THE  CENTRAL  EMPIRES 

whether  these  were  selected  and  hand-picked  cases  to 
demonstrate  upon  is  not  known. 

The  whole  German  scheme  of  rehabilitation,  then,  is 
thus  summarized : 

No  charity,  but  work,  for  the  war  cripple. 

Cripples  must  be  returned  to  their  homes  and  their  old 
conditions;  as  far  as  possible,  to  their  old  work. 

Cripples  must  be  distributed  among  the  mass  of  the 
people  just  as  though  nothing  had  happened. 

There  is  no  such  a  thing  as  being  "  crippled  "  while  there 
exists  the  iron  will  to  overcome  the  handicap. 

There  must  be  the  fullest  publicity  on  the  subject;  first 
of  all,  among  the  cripples  themselves. 

There  seems  small  difficulty  in  handling  the  men. 
This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  they  are  partly  under 
military  discipline,  and  also  that  the  schooling  is 
started  early,  before  the  "pension  psychosis"  has 
taken  hold  of  their  minds.  The  appeal  to  them  is  a 
patriotic  one,  in  effect,  that  no  man  is  a  worthy  citi- 
zen of  the  Fatherland  who  does  not  use  his  will  to 
overcome  his  handicap.  A  great  deal  of  literature 
has  been  published  to  fix  this  idea  among  the  cripples 
and  the  public  as  well;  and  the  motto,  "The  German 
will  conquers!"  is  iterated  constantly. 

Men  are  treated  in  the  orthopaedic  hospitals  from 
two  to  six  months,  until  they  are  ready  to  go  back  to 
the  Army  or  are  pronounced  unfit  for  further  work 
in  the  active  military  establishment.  Even  if  re- 
ported unfit,  the  Army  does  not  discharge  them  until 
they  are  pronounced  fit  to  go  back  to  civil  life.  But 
if  a  man  has  a  relapse  after  his  discharge,  or  if  a 
further  and  expensive  treatment  might  improve  his 
condition,  the  military  authorities  take  no  further 

109 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

notice  of  him.  He  is  at  the  mercy  of  private  charity, 
being  rated  now  as  a  civilian. 

Reeducation  and  medical  treatment  are  simultane- 
ous, for  the  reason  that  experience  has  shown  that 
best  results  are  had  only  by  getting  hold  of  the  patient 
at  the  earliest  stage  of  convalescence.  The  fact  that 
the  Imperial  Government  will  not  contribute  any- 
thing toward  reeducation  is  another  consideration  im- 
pelling the  local  committee  to  use  the  time  the  man 
is  in  the  hospital  as  far  as  possible,  for  the  purpose 
of  saving  on  his  maintenance.  Trade  training  in  the 
military  hospital  thus  begins  usually  as  soon  as  the 
man  is  out  of  bed.  The  local  "care  committee"  of 
voluntary  or  privately  supported  workers  sometimes 
has  its  workshops  in  the  hospital,  and  sometimes  at 
some  place  outside  to  which  the  men  are  transported 
daily.  As  every  city  has  its  technical  school  as  part 
of  the  educational  system,  these  furnish  equipment 
ready  to  hand,  and  usually  also  a  staff  of  teachers, 
specialists  in  vocational  training. 

The  hospital  at  Niirnberg  is  perhaps  the  most  com- 
plete example  of  the  manner  in  which  Germany  is 
handling  the  problem  of  reeducating  and  refitting  her 
permanently  disabled  men.  Most  of  the  work  is  car- 
ried on  in  direct  connection  with  the  institution,  al- 
though some  work  is  done  in  connection  with  the  city 
schools.  The  discipline  being  military,  men  are  as- 
signed by  the  director  to  the  shops  to  spend  a  certain 
number  of  hours  each  day.  The  civilian  instructors 
do  not  attempt  to  force  the  assigned  men  to  work,  but 
the  knowledge  that  curtailment  of  privileges  or 
rations  may  be  ordered  by  the  military  authorities  is 
a  compelling  incentive;  the  example  of  other  pupils 

110 


THE  CENTRAL  EMPIRES 

who  are  interested  and  making  progress,  however,  is 
generally  sufficient  for  even  the  most  apathetic.  In 
a  few  of  the  hospitals,  notably  the  Kortan  agricul- 
tural school,  it  has  been  possible  to  assign  disabled 
soldiers  —  officers  —  as  instructors,  and  in  such  cases 
the  discipline  is  entirely  military. 
•  There  are  900  beds  at  the  Niirnberg  hospital,  which 
occupies  three  buildings.  These  were  not  constructed 
for  the  purpose,  but  were  turned  over  to  the  author- 
ities by  the  city  of  Niirnberg,  furnished  with  all 
modern  orthopaedic  equipment.  The  facilities  in- 
clude a  large  piece  of  land  and  12  workshops.  The 
shops  are  fitted  with  machinery  and  tools,  the  gift  of 
patriotic  manufacturers.  The  teaching  is  done  by 
professional  instructors,  who  donate  their  services, 
and  by  foremen  from  manufacturing  shops  whose  ser- 
vices are  donated  by  their  employers.  The  instruc- 
tion is  in  two  classes  —  general  and  theoretical  in- 
struction in  the  schools  of  Niirnberg,  and  practical 
work  in  the  hospital  workshops. 

The  branches  taught  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Niirnberg  institution  are  typical.  They  embrace 
left-hand  writing,  improved  writing  with  right  hand, 
typewriting,  stenography,  commercial  courses,  general 
course  for  industrial  workers,  farm  bookkeeping, 
theoretic  course  for  building  trades  (carpenters, 
joiners,  locksmiths,  and  the  like),  theoretic  course  for 
builders  (masons,  plasterers,  plumbers),  decoration 
and  design,  theoretic  course  for  machinists,  left-hand 
drawing,  office  management,  practical  work  in  shops, 
tailoring,  painting,  bookbinding,  printing,  locksmith- 
ing,  shoemaking,  saddlery,  weaving  (both  hand  and 
machine),  orthopaedic  mechanics,  machine-tool  work, 

111 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

carpentry,  farming,  paperhanging,  toymaking,  black- 
smithing,  brushmaking.  Each  course  has  regular  hours, 
and  the  teachers,  volunteers  from  the  various  trades, 
demand  that  work  be  turned  out  that  is  strictly  up 
to  commercial  standards. 

At  Dusseldorf  there  are  50  hospitals.  Here  the 
local  committee  has  taken  possession  of  a  school  build- 
ing equipped  with  shops  and  tools,  and  offers  20 
courses  to  men  from  all  hospitals.  Where  the  men 
go  out  from  the  hospitals  for  training,  it  is  called 
"outdoor  instruction"  and  is  not  under  military 
discipline.  Attendance  is  not  compulsory,  and  men 
cannot  be  punished  for  misbehavior,  but  the  school 
reserves  the  right  to  refuse  pupils  who  are  idle  or 
are  subversive  of  order.  In  addition  to  the  courses 
given  at  Niirnberg,  the  Dusseldorf  institution  pro- 
vides instruction  in  general  education,  telegraphy, 
course  for  store  clerks,  agriculture,  handicrafts,  elec- 
trical work,  metal  work,  carpentry  and  cabinet  worl$, 
graphic  trades  (printing,  lithography,  etc.),  card- 
board and  leather  work,  plastering,  upholstery,  and 
dental  laboratory  work. 

It  is  considered  in  Germany  that  the  one-armed  man 
has  the  greatest  handicap,  and  there  are  special 
schools  for  his  training  at  Strassburg,  Baden-Baden, 
Heidelberg,  Munich,  Wurzburg,  Kaiserlautern,  Lud- 
wigshaven,  Niirnberg,  Erlangen,  Frankfurt,  Hanover, 
Chemnitz  and  Diisseldorf.  A  school  for  one-armed 
men  means  special  courses  for  them,  given  in  regular 
city  schools  where  the  men  later  will  be  taught  trades. 
The  course  includes  instruction  in  the  ordinary  acts 
of  life  made  difficult  by  the  loss  of  a  hand.  Six  weeks 
usually  puts  a  one-armed  man  in  condition  to  go  on 

112 


THE  CENTRAL  EMPIRES 

with  regular  training.  One-armed  teachers  are  em- 
ployed, and  much  of  the  work  is  in  convincing  the 
students  that  the  handicap  can  be  overcome  by  a 
little  practice. 

Left-hand  writing  is  given  all  who  have  lost  the 
right  arm,  and  excellent  script  is  usually  attained  in 
from  12  to  20  lessons.  Left-hand  drawing,  designing 
and  modelling  are  usually  added  to  impart  deftness. 
Men  are  taught  to  use  the  typewriter,  sometimes  with 
a  special  apparatus  added  on  the  stump  of  the  lost 
arm,  and  sometimes  with  a  shift  key  worked  with  the 
knee.  All  the  schools  emphasize  physical  training, 
and  at  Heidelberg,  under  a  regular  gymnasium  in- 
structor, the  men  do  almost  all  the  athletic  feats  pos- 
sible for  two-armed  men.  The  Heidelberg  school  has 
a  list  of  a  hundred  occupations  suitable  for  one-armed 
men,  and  believes  that  as  a  rule  these  men  are  able  to 
continue  in  their  old  trades.  Of  those  being  re- 
educated at  Heidelberg,  only  five  per  cent,  have  been 
obliged  to  take  up  another  trade.  It  is  held  that  the 
best  opportunity  is  in  a  narrower  specialization  in  the 
old  trade ;  for  instance,  a  carpenter  can  take  up 
polishing  and  wood  inlay,  a  tailor  can  become  a  cutter, 
and  so  on.  The  most  important  point  is  held  to  be 
for  employers  so  to  arrange  their  work  as  to  reserve 
for  one-armed  men  the  places  they  are  able  to  fill. 

There  are  ten  agricultural  schools  for  war  cripples. 
The  one  at  Berlin  accommodates  200  and  trains  crip- 
ples as  farm  teachers.  The  instruction  in  the  main 
is  of  that  simple  sort  useful  for  small  farms.  The 
chief  need  is  to  fit  the  small  peasant  farmer  to  go  back 
to  his  own  holding  where,  with  the  help  of  his  wife 
and  children,  he  may  manage  truck  gardening,  poultry 

113 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

raising,  and  the  like.  The  possibilities  of  farm  ma- 
chinery seem  not  to  have  been  gone  into. 

Among  additional  agencies,  nearly  all  of  the  larger 
employers  of  labor,  such  as  Krupp,  are  maintaining 
hospitals  to  take  care  of  their  former  employees  who 
return  disabled  from  the  front,  and  in  many  of  these 
there  is  room  to  care  for  other  disabled  men.  Work 
is  provided  after  discharge  according  to  the  capabili- 
ties of  the  disabled  men.  Most  of  the  large  concerns 
have  shown  much  enthusiasm. 

The  matter  of  placement  is  simplified  by  the  Ger- 
man creed  that  "  a  man  must  go  back  to  his  former 
trade,  and  if  possible  to  his  former  position."  There 
are  several  agencies  to  which  the  cripple  can  turn, 
but  there  is  no  uniform  manner  of  fitting  the  men 
back  into  industry,  the  regular  municipal  system  of 
employment  bureaus  working  in  conjunction  with 
private  enterprise  and  associations. 

The  Government  has  an  enormous  number  of  places 
at  its  disposal,  as  the  railways  are  Goverment-owned. 
The  Government  has  promised  that  all  disabled 
former  employees  will  be  taken  on,  if  not  in  their  old 
positions,  then  in  kindred  ones;  and  according  to  a 
late  decision  of  the  Government,  these  men  are  to  be 
paid  without  consideration  of  their  pensions.  The 
Post  Office  will  give  all  future  agencies  and  sub- 
agencies  in  agricultural  districts  to  war  cripples,  pro- 
vided they  are  fit  for  the  position  and  wish  to  settle 
on  the  land. 

There  are  no  reliable  statistics  of  the  general  pro- 
portion of  cripples  who  return  to  work.  The  German 
habit  of  bragging  taints  all  their  statements  with  sus- 
picion. However,  the  provincial  care  committee  of 

114 


THE  CENTRAL  EMPIRES 

the  Rhine  Province  for  June,  1917,  gives  the  follow- 
ing figures:  number  of  unemployed  cripples  dealt 
with  by  the  43  local  care  committees  under  the  pro- 
vincial committee,  927 ;  of  these  there  were,  willing  to 
work,  209 ;  work  shy,  92 ;  temporarily  unfit  for  work, 
395 ;  permanently  unfit,  231.  As  to  the  proportion  of 
cripples  going  back  to  their  old  trades,  of  454  appli- 
cants for  work  at  Coblenz  in  two  months,  the  per- 
centage of  men  going  back  to  their  old  trades  was  89, 
although  only  42  per  cent,  had  so  intended.  At 
Baden,  out  of  204  applicants,  188  went  back,  although 
only  95  had  so  intended. 

In  the  first  three  years  of  the  war,  it  is  claimed, 
20,000  cripples  were  taught  the  art  of  oxy-acetylene 
welding  by  Theo.  Kautney,  and  these  essential  repair 
men  were  dubbed  " Kautney 's  Army."  In  the 
Reichstag  on  April  23,  1918,  General  Schultze,  Sur- 
geon-General of  the  Imperial  Army,  stated  that  only 
1.5  per  cent,  of  the  German  wounded  die,  and  that 
2,700,000  injured  men  had  been  restored  sufficiently 
for  military  duty;  there  had  been,  however,  629,000 
discharges  from  the  Army  for  unfitness  on  account  of 
wounds  or  disease,  and  to  date  Germany  had  to  reckon 
with  some  98,000  cripples.  "Taking  into  consideration 
the  German  habit  of  brag,  and  the  fact  that  "military 
duty"  covers  anything  men  can  be  employed  at  for 
the  Army,  from  mending  shoes  to  picking  up  scrap 
iron  and  brass  on  the  battlefield  or  sorting  it  after 
it  is  brought  back  to  the  junk  yards,  the  admitted 
damage  to  effectives  was  certainly  1,250,000  men,  ex- 
clusive of  the  killed,  before  the  beginning  of  the 
Picardy  and  Flanders  offensives  of  1918  and  the  sub- 
sequent fighting  along  the  whole  line. 

115 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

The  German  casualties  all  told  were  more  than  six 
million,  with  total  deaths  of  somewhere  near  two 
million  —  very  likely  more  than  two  million,  for  much 
sanguinary  fighting  occurred  after  the  latest  obtain- 
able figures  were  published.  The  Cologne  Gazette,  al- 
ways a  semi-official  paper,  stated  on  November  25,1918, 
that  the  total  casualties  reported  up  to  October  25  were 
6,066,769,  of  whom  more  than  4,750,000  were  Prus- 
sians. This  total  includes  the  naval  casualties,  which 
were  70,000,  composed  of  more  than  25,000  dead,  more 
than  15,000  missing,  and  nearly  29,000  wounded.  The 
Gazette  casualty  list  No.  1284,  published  on  October 
24,  1918,  placed  the  number  of  dead  at  1,612,104  and 
the  missing  at  772,522.  The  paper  says  that  of  the 
number  reported  missing,  180,000  may  be  considered 
dead,  thus  bringing  the  total  dead  up  to  1,792,104. 
The  paper  calls  the  casualties  among  the  officers 
"appalling."  Up  to  October  24,  1918,  it  reported 
44,700  officers  killed,  82,460  officers  wounded,  and  13,- 
600  missing,  a  total  of  140,760 ;  the  Gazette  points  out 
the  loss  in  officers  alone  exceeds  the  total  casualties 
of  Germany  in  the  Franco-Prussian  war  of  1870,  when 
the  total  German  losses  were  129,698.  As  German 
army  officers  were  drawn  in  the  main  from  the 
nobility,  the  seminobility,  and  families  of  social  and 
financial  prominence,  it  will  be  seen  that  these  classes 
have  been  hard  hit  by  the  casualties. 

The  official  apportionment  of  casualties  among  the 
various  contingents  on  October  24,  1918,  which  did 
not  include  casualty  lists  from  the  fighting  on  the 
western  front  after  that  date  nor  the  considerable 
German  losses  in  Palestine,  was  given  by  the  Cologne 
Gazette  as  follows: 

116 


THE  CENTRAL  EMPIRES 

Prussia.—  Dead,  1,262,060;  wounded,  2,882,671;  missing, 
616,139 ;  total,  4,760,870. 

Bavaria. —  Dead,  150,658;  wounded,  363,823;  missing, 
72,115;  total,  586,596. 

Saxony. —  Dead,  108,017;  wounded,  252,027;  missing, 
51,787;  total,  411,831. 

Wiirttemberg. —  Dead,  64,507;  wounded,  155,654;  miss- 
ing, 16,802;  total,  236,963. 

Navy.—  Dead,  25,862;  wounded,  28,968;  missing,  15,679; 
total,  70,509. 

The  famed  German  efficiency  seems  to  have  col- 
lapsed at  the  end  of  the  war,  as  illustrated  by  the 
following  news  dispatch  of  December  26,  1918,  from 
The  Hague : 

A  Berlin  special  correspondent  telegraphs  that  Berliners 
taking  their  favorite  promenade  in  Unter  den  Linden  Sun- 
day afternoon  witnessed  a  frightful  and  heartbreaking 
spectacle.  The  League  of  Wounded  Soldiers  organized  a 
demonstration  to  protest  against  the  low  rate  of  pay. 

They  receive  a  mere  pittance  and  have  to  wait  months 
for  it.  The  grateful  fatherland  is  very  stingy  toward  its 
brave  heroes.  The  old  system  of  giving  wounded  soldiers 
hand  organs  still  obtain  in  new  Germany. 

These  tens  of  thousands  of  men,  broken  by  Germany's 
war,  protest  against  the  Berlin  system,  and  Berlin  witnessed 
a  demonstration  of  wretchedness  and  misery  such  as  the 
world  had  never  seen.  Tens  of  thousands  of  men,  cripples 
for  life,  marched  in  fours  at  a  pace  regulated  by  cripples, 
unable  to  walk  without  crutches. 

Many  were  without  one  leg,  many  had  lost  both.  These 
were  followed  by  cripples  without  arms,  then  came  the 
blind  and  men  with  faces  injured  so  terribly  that  one  woman 
fainted  in  the  arms  of  the  man  accompanying  her. 

I  saw  tears  in  the  eyes  of  many  onlookers.  The  dismal 
procession  took  hours  to  pass  the  ministry  of  war  in 

117 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

Leipzigerstrasse,  where  a  deputation  waited  on  State  Secre- 
tary Bauer  to  ask  for  improved  conditions. 

From  the  balcony  Bauer  announced  to  the  wounded  that 
legal  channels  were  necessary;  that  provisional  measures 
had  been  taken  in  the  meantime  to  comply  with  the  demands 
of  the  wounded. 

In  November,  1914,  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior  of 
Austria-Hungary  made  the  first  move  toward  an 
organization  to  assist  the  disabled  soldiers  of  the  Dual 
Monarchy.  For  many  reasons,  but  mainly  that  of 
diversity  of  linguistic  and  economic  conditions,  the 
care  of  the  war  disabled  and  invalids  was  entrusted 
to  the  various  ' '  crownlands, "  or  states.  A  commis- 
sion for  each  crownland  was  created,  its  duties  being 
to  provide  medical  care  and  vocational  reeducation 
for  the  war  invalids  of  the  crownland  and  the  neces- 
sary facilities  therefor.  The  institutes  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  industry  which  exist  in  every  crown- 
land  were  ordered  to  cooperate,  and  the  same  order 
was  given  to  all  the  public  trade  schools.  A  decree 
of  the  Minister  of  War  dated  June  8,  1915,  made 
vocational  reeducation  of  war  invalids  obligatory  and 
defined  the  functions  of  the  various  agencies. 

The  military  authorities  provide  the  wounded  with 
all  medical  assistance,  bear  the  cost  of  manufacture 
and  repair  of  artificial  limbs  as  long  as  the  patient 
stays  in  the  military  service,  and  bears  the  cost  of 
maintenance  of  the  soldiers  in  non-military  institu- 
tions. They  keep  the  wounded  under  control  until 
recuperated  to  capacity  to  work  or  until  discharged 
as  invalids.  The  military  authorities,  in  cooperation 
with  the  civil  authorities,  provide  the  final  treatment 

118 


THE  CENTRAL  EMPIRES 

and  vocational  reeducation.  The  civil  authorities 
organize  the  employment  service.  A  wounded  man 
is  not  discharged  from  military  service  until  he  is 
able  to  return  to  a  civilian  occupation. 

The  Government  early  proceeded  to  open  ortho- 
paedic hospitals,  at  Vienna  and  other  points.  The 
Vienna  hospital  is  the  largest.  It  had  2,000  beds  in 
January,  1915,  and  preparations  were  under  way  to 
add  1,000  more.  It  has  been  filled  with  patients  since 
it  opened.  Reeducation  is  the  principal  purpose  of 
this  institution.  The  aim  is  to  refit  the  man  to  enable 
him  to  go  back  to  his  former  occupation  or  a  related 
occupation  in  the  same  trade.  This  hospital  claims 
to  have  attained  this  result  in  95  per  cent,  of  the 
cases  treated. 

After  having  undergone  preliminary  treatment, 
each  patient  in  the  Vienna  hospital  is  assigned  to  a 
workshop.  There  are  42  barracks  capable  of  accom- 
modating 100  men  each,  and  the  shops  are  scattered 
among  the  barracks.  In  one  of  the  halls  is  a  col- 
lection of  agricultural  implements  and  machinery, 
with  such  modifications  as  are  necessary  to  fit  the 
devices  for  the  use  of  men  with  artificial  limbs,  and 
the  men  who  go  into  agriculture  are  encouraged  to 
handle  them.  There  is  an  estate  in  connection  with 
the  hospital  where  training  in  agriculture  is  carried 
on  under  the  direction  of  a  physician  and  a  one- 
armed  teacher.  A  special  school  has  been  created  for 
one-armed  men,  directed  by  a  one-armed  architect. 

The  Vienna  schools  for  invalids  do  not  attempt  to 
turn  out  thoroughly  skilled  workers.  The  education 
is  complete  only  in  the  case  of  the  invalids  who  can 
be  entirely  restored  to  their  former  callings  or  adapted 

119 


[REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

to  some  easier  branches  of  their  former  trades.  The 
primary  purpose  is  to  find  the  most  suitable  occupa- 
tion for  the  invalid,  and  then  to  give  him  the  pre- 
paratory instruction,  the  elements  of  a  theoretic  and 
practical  trade  education.  The  specialization  in 
skilled  trades  is  left  to  other  institutions  or  regular 
vocational  schools,  with  which  arrangements  have  been 
made  regarding  the  training  of  these  men.  Instruc- 
tion is  given  in  photography,  lithography,  printing, 
compositor's  work,  metal  working,  electricity,  motion- 
picture  operating,  and  the  like. 

The  Vienna  school  is  under  military  control,  but 
the  administration  is  mixed.  The  medical  director  is 
a  military  official ;  the  technical  director  is  not.  These 
two  direct  all  the  reeducation  work  and  advise  the 
patients  in  the  choice  of  an  occupation.  Patients  are 
not  discharged  until  able  to  return  to  the  Army  or 
to  their  former  occupations  in  civil  life.  In  the  latter 
case,  the  patient  does  not  leave  the  hospital  before 
employment  is  found  for  him.  In  this  placement  of 
men,  the  hospital  works  with  the  public  Board  for 
Vocational  Advice  of  Vienna  and  with  representatives 
of  the  Ministry  of  Public  Works.  When  the  patient 
is  an  independent  landowner  or  artisan,  the  hospital 
before  discharge  makes  an  inquiry  to  ascertain 
whether  the  revenue  to  be  expected  from  his  enter- 
prise would  be  sufficient  for  the  support  of  the  in- 
valid. All  cases  discharged  are  kept  on  the  records 
of  the  hospital  and  observed  as  to  conditions  of  work 
and  earnings. 

The  policy  of  the  Austrian  Government  has  been 
to  handle  the  physical  disablements  in  institutions  of 
large  size  located  in  the  large  cities,  usually  in  the 

120 


THE  CENTRAL  EMPIRES 

capitals  of  the  various  crownlands.  At  the  beginning 
of  1915,  such  institutions  were  in  operation  in  Prague, 
Reichenberg,  Troppan,  Tesehen,  Graz,  Cracow,  Linz, 
Mehor-Ostrian,  and  several  of  the  larger  industrial 
centers.  The  railways  have  an  organization  of  their 
own  to  take  care  of  injured  employees  and  maintain  a 
convalescent  home  as  well. 

The  placement  of  the  rehabilitated  was  made  a 
governmental  policy  on  June  28,  1915,  when  a  decree 
was  issued  causing  the  creation  of  an  employment 
service  in  every  kingdom  and  crownland  of  the  Em- 
pire with  offices  at  the  various  capitals.  The  effort  is 
always  made  to  get  the  invalid  back  with  his  former 
employer,  or,  failing  this,  to  get  the  man  back  in  his 
former  occupation  or  one  closely  allied  with  it,  and, 
if  possible,  always  at  the  man's  home  or  near  by. 
Those  injured  men  unable  to  return  to  their  previous 
occupations  are  passed  upon  by  the  vocational  council 
and  if  necessary  transferred  to  the  schools  for  in- 
valids. A  record  of  each  invalid  is  kept  for  at  least 
six  months  after  his  placement,  and  his  welfare  is 
closely  watched.  If  he  is  discharged  from  his  em- 
ployment, the  matter  is  looked  into  and  reinstate- 
ment accomplished  when  possible.  All  injured  men 
who  are  able  to  work  and  willing  to  work  are  main- 
tained until  they  are  placed  in  positions.  They  are 
given  board,  lodging  and  clothes  at  the  Vienna  bar- 
racks and  a  small  subsidy'  in  cash.  Men  entirely  dis- 
abled and  incapable  of  work  are  assigned  to  special 
homes  prepared  for  them. 

Employers  are  asked  to  give  the  invalids,  even  those 
with  diminished  capacity,  suitable  employment  at  fair 
wages.  Invalids  whose  capacity  has  not  been  di- 

121 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

minished  are  to  receive  the  same  wage  as  other  work- 
men in  the  same  group,  and  are  to  be  covered  by  the 
same  collective  wage  agreements  whenever  such  are  in 
force.  Remuneration  of  invalids  with  diminished 
capacity  is  to  be  fixed  by  agreement  between  em- 
ployers and  employees,  or,  when  the  employee  deals 
with  the  labor  organization,  the  terms  are  arranged 
between  the  latter  and  the  employer.  When  work  is 
paid  for  by  the  piece,  no  distinction  is  to  be  made 
between  invalids  and  others,  and  the  pension  received 
by  the  individual  from  the  military  authorities  in  no 
case  shall  be  taken  into  account.  Appeals  are  issued 
to  the  working  classes  to  help  the  returning  invalid  to 
develop  his  full  capacity  for  work. 

In  Hungary  the  problems  of  the  war  invalids  were 
first  attempted  by  the  Red  Cross  and  private  organ- 
izations. This  system  was  abandoned  where  a  Gov- 
ernment institution  called  the  Invalidment  was 
created.  The  same  law  decreed  that  orthopaedic  ap- 
pliances should  be  supplied  gratuitously,  and  made 
the  reeducation  of  disabled  soldiers  obligatory,  the 
treatment  and  reeducation  to  last  not  more  than  a 
year.  Final  treatment  and  reeducation  could  be 
given  in  State  institutions,  or  institutions  under 
military  control,  or  by  the  Hungarian  Red  Cross. 

Special  reexamination  commissions  were  established 
at  Budapest,  Pressburg,  Kolozovar  and  Zagreb,  ap- 
pointed by  the  Hungarian  Premier  from  medical  and 
industrial  circles.  Injured  men  refusing  prostheses 
or  treatment,  or  to  follow  the  plans  for  reeducation, 
have  to  appear  before  these  commissions.  Those  who 
persist  in  their  refusal  against  the  findings  of  the 
commissions  forfeit  all  or  a  part  of  their  claims  to 

122 


THE  CENTRAL  EMPIRES 

pensions,  except  in  the  case  of  those  who  have  been 
in  active  military  service  for  ten  years  or  more. 

All  of  the  medical  institutions  were  created  anew 
under  the  Invalidment,  The  start  was  made  at 
Budapest  with  four  hospitals  accommodating  4,500, 
and  by  the  middle  of  1916  there  were  over  10,000 
places  at  the  hospitals  at  Budapest  alone.  Similar 
institutions  exist  at  Pressburg,  Kolozavar,  Kassar,  and 
other  cities. 

The  school  at  Budapest  is  the  largest,  accommodat- 
ing 700  in  1916.  The  object  of  the  education  appears 
to  be  mainty  to  turn  out  independent  small  craftsmen. 
As  high  as  90  per  cent,  of  the  pupils  are  peasants,  and 
the  classes  with  the  largest  attendance  are  those  for 
shoemakers,  tailors,  harnessmakers,  cartwrights,  lock- 
smiths, and  cabinet  makers.  Illiterates  are  trained 
in  reading  and  writing,  and  stenography  and  type- 
writing are  taught  in  some  of  the  schools.  Similar 
institutes  exist  at  Pressburg,  Kassar  and  Kolozovar. 

At  the  Institute  for  the  Blind  at  Budapest  the  in 
mates  are  taught  carpet  weaving,  brushmaking,  mas- 
saging, and  the  like.  As  there  are  a  number  of  in- 
valids who  cannot  advantageously  be  placed  in 
industry,  special  cooperative  schools  have  been  created 
to  deal  with  them. 

An  employment  service  is  maintained  by  the  In- 
validment which  does  not  ask  for  private  or  local  or 
trade  cooperation. 

Casualties  of  the  Austro-Hungarian  armies  from  the 
beginning  of  the  war  to  the  end  of  May,  1918,  accord- 
ing to  official  statistics,  were  slightly  over  4,000,000 ; 
of  these  it  is  claimed  that  from  all  causes  the  total  of 
lives  lost  was  over  1,500,000. 

123 


CHAPTER  X 


THE  PRACTICAL   CANADIAN   SYSTEM 

First  provision  for  Canadian  wounded  —  The  Military  Hospi- 
tals Commission  —  Inception  of  vocational  reeducation  — 
The  Invalided  Soldiers'  Commission — The  civilian  Depart- 
ment of  Civil  Reestablishment  —  Principles  of  the  restora- 
tion scheme  —  Kehabilitation  work  completely  demilitar- 
ized —  Pension  allotments  unaffected  by  retraining  — 
Vocational  reeducation  limited  to  the  disabled  who  cannot 
return  to  their  former  occupations  —  Handling  the  return- 
ing invalids  —  Occupational  therapy  in  the  hospitals  — 
The  mechanism  and  process  of  restoration  —  Beturning 
the  disabled  farmer  to  the  land  —  Free  education  without 
maintenance  open  to  all  soldiers  not  requiring  retraining 
—  Canadian  casualties  in  the  war. 


About  the  middle  of  1915  the  backflow  of  injured 
Canadians  from  overseas  battlefields  began  to  assume 
such  proportions  as  to  demand  Government  action. 
The  Military  Hospitals  Commission  was  the  first 
agency  employed  to  handle  the  men  invalided  home. 
Civil  cooperation  was  hearty.  A  chain  of  hospitals 
was  created  across  the  continent.  There  was  no  lack 
of  accommodations  or  of  proper  treatment  for  the 
wounded  and  disabled.  But  when  the  hospital  treat- 
ment was  over  and  the  man  discharged,  there  seemed 
to  be  something  lacking.  A  hearty,  husky  farmer  lad, 
for  instance,  would  be  turned  out  of  hospital  "with 
a  peg-leg  and  a  pension."  His  abilities  as  a  farmer 
were  nullified  almost  entirely  by  his  injury.  He  did 
not  know  anything  else  but  farming  and  the  utiliza- 
tion of  his  former  brute  strength.  Seemingly,  his 
future  was  that  of  a  pensioned  idler  for  the  rest  of 

124 


THE  PRACTICAL  CANADIAN  SYSTEM 

his  days,  or  if  he  worked  at  all,  certainly  in  some 
occupation  paying  minimum  wages. 

It  seemed  a  great  pity.  Some  of  the  Canadian 
authorities  learned  of  what  was  being  attempted  in 
France  in  the  reeducation  of  the  disabled  men  so  as 
to  fit  them  for  useful  occupations  in  spite  of  their 
handicaps.  The  experiment  in  France,  however,  had 
not  progressed  far  enough  to  be  of  much  value  as  a 
guide  to  Canada.  All  that  was  known  was  that  the 
work  had  been  started  and  was  apparently  a  success. 
Nevertheless,  the  Dominion  decided  to  try  it  out.  To 
quote  T.  B.  Kidner,  vocational  secretary  of  the 
Canadian  work : 

We  knew  absolutely  nothing  of  this  problem.  We  ob- 
tained a  little  information  from  France  which  was  then  in 
a  very  chaotic  condition  as  far  as  vocational  reeducation 
was  concerned.  We  tried  to  obtain  information  from  other 
sources.  We  had  the  experience  of  bodies  which  had  dealt 
with  it  in  a  very  limited  way  with  industrial  cripples,  but 
there  was  practically  nothing  to  go  on.  We  tackled  the 
problem  by  interviewing  every  man  who  came  back  to 
Canada  and  finding  out  what  his  needs  were. 

It  speedily  developed  that  the  problem  was  an  individual 
one  in  every  case,  and  that  we  could  not  establish  any  set 
of  regulations,  for  instance,  as  to  the  kind  of  trade  for 
which  a  man  suffering  from  a  certain  disability  was  to  be 
trained;  but  that  we  would  have  to  try  every  individual 
case  and  study  it  in  the  light  of  the  man's  whole  nature  and 
of  the  opportunities  he  had  had,  and  of  the  remaining  pos- 
sibilities in  him.  And  that  is  the  beginning  and  end  of  our 
theories  on  the  work.  The  rest  of  it  has  been  evolved, 
usually  out  of  a  process  of  what  a  workman  would  call 
"  cutting  and  trying." 

Thus  the  Canadian  system  had  its  inception  and 
thus  it  grew,  practical  always,  and  adapted  to  the 

125 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

needs  of  the  men  of  that  country.  In  the  evolution 
the  Military  Hospitals  Commission  became  the  In- 
valided Soldiers  Commission,  and  a  Department  of 
Civil  Reestablishment  was  created.  This  latter  is  a 
civilian  organization  which  works  with  and  in  the 
hospitals,  as  well  as  out  of  them. 

It  was  ascertained  early  that  the  militarizing  of  the 
rehabilitation  work  would  not  do.  The  men  had  been 
too  well  trained  as  soldiers  to  unbend  and  confide  in 
a  commissioned  officer  or  even  in  a  sergeant.  The 
men  could  not  bring  themselves  to  it  —  the  effect  of 
discipline  was  too  strong  and  too  lasting.  There  was 
a  gulf  which  neither  men  nor  officers  seemed  able  to 
cross.  But  it  was  found  that  the  returning  men  were 
eager  to  unbosom  themselves  to  civilians  and  to  turn 
to  them  for  advice  and  help  and  counsel.  Not  that 
they  did  not  respect  and  trust  their  officers  or  con- 
sider them  as  capable  to  advise,  but  military  discipline 
discourages  any  except  a  formal  relation  which  in  a 
few  months  becomes  habitual  and  ingrained.  So  it 
was  determined  early  in  the  formative  period  of  the 
reconstruction  work  that  as  a  matter  of  fundamental 
policy,  it  would  be  strictly  in  all  respects  a  civilian 
affair.  To  make  a  soldier,  soldiers  were  needed;  to 
unmake  a  soldier  and  turn  him  into  a  civilian  again, 
civilians  were  required. 

Another  necessary  preliminary  settlement  had  to  do 
with  the  attitude  of  many  of  the  men,  who  imagined 
that  if  they  took  training  and  thereby  increased  their 
earning  power,  the  fact  would  be  taken  advantage  of 
by  the  Government  in  adjusting  the  pension  allowance 
for  their  injuries  and  might  result  in  a  decreased 
pension.  The  same  idea,  as  we  have  seen,  was  preva- 

126 


THE  PRACTICAL  CANADIAN  SYSTEM 

lent  in  France  and  in  England.  The  Government 
promptly  made  it  plain  that  no  matter  how  much  a 
man  might  be  able  to  earn  as  a  result  of  reeducation, 
his  status  as  a  pensioner  would  not  be  affected.  The 
pension  allotment  is  on  the  basis  of  the  man's  dis- 
ability in  the  open  labor  market  and  not  on  his  earn- 
ing capacity  in  any  particular  occupation  for  which  he 
may  have  been  trained.  The  effect  of  this  announce- 
ment was  to  remove  any  reluctance  of  the  men  to 
take  training. 

The  next  step  was  to  make  it  plain  that  a  man 
would  not  be  taught  a  new  trade  or  given  training 
leading  to  some  new  occupation  merely  as  a  reward 
of  valor  or  because  he  had  been  overseas.  Voca- 
tional reeducation  at  public  expense  is  provided  only 
for  those  who  demonstrably  cannot  return  to  their 
former  occupations  with  efficiency  and  good  prospects 
of  earning  power. 

We  have  seen  in  another  connection  (Chapter  V) 
that  the  Canadian  survey  of  the  problem  developed 
the  fact  that  more  men  were  disabled  in  a  medical 
than  in  a  surgical  sense,  but  of  the  subjects  for  re- 
education the  division  was  about  equal  between  the 
two  classes.  The  problem  was  seen  to  be  not  so  much 
that  of  the  crippled  or  "dismembered"  man;  those 
were  the  simplest  cases  to  deal  with.  It  is  the  problem 
of  the  man  with  a  complication  of  troubles.  The 
surgical  injuries  run  the  gamut  of  wounds,  but  the 
medical  cases  present  almost  every  possible  organic 
trouble  and  complication.  Canada  was  thus  driven 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  task  of  reeducation  was 
one  which  must  deal  with  each  case  individually ;  that 
there  could  be  no  hard  and  fast  rules  outside  of  the 

127 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

main  purpose  to  give  the  disabled  men  the  opportun- 
ity of  returning  to  civil  life  as  efficient,  wage-earning, 
self-supporting  and  self-respecting  citizens  who  ask 
nothing  except  the  chance  to  earn  their  living  on  their 
merits  as  workmen. 

The  Invalided  Soldiers  Commission  has  wide  au- 
thority "to  see  the  men  all  the  way  back."  To  the 
civilian  Department  of  Civil  Reestablishment  are  en- 
trusted the  vocational  reeducation  of  the  men  who 
require  it  and  the  care  of  the  tubercular,  the  insane, 
the  chronic  invalids  and  the  blind  according  to  their 
several  necessities.  The  Commission  also  looks  after 
the  training  that  is  given  the  injured  man  in  the 
hospital,  and  endeavors  wherever  possible  to  coordi- 
nate the  occupational  therapeutics  of  the  hospital 
with  the  reeducation  the  man  is  to  receive  later,  so  as 
to  insure  a  continuous  restoration  process  and  the 
enlistment  of  the  interest  of  the  disabled  man  at  the 
earliest  possible  moment.  Officials  of  the  Commis- 
sion are  in  the  hospitals  overseas  and  on  the  hospital 
transports  coming  home.  Their  business  is  to  en- 
courage the  wounded  and  disabled  men,  to  acquaint 
them  with  the  opportunities  for  remunerative  work 
in  spite  of  their  handicaps,  and  to  induce  them  to  take 
up  the  training  offered,  for  it  is  an  entirely  volun- 
tary affair.  The  men  are  assured  that  they  will  be 
fed,  clothed,  lodged,  and  given  pay  as  well  as  re- 
education by  the  Government.  The  family  allot- 
ments and  allowances  are  continued  to  the  dependents 
of  the  man  in  training  just  as  if  he  were  still  over- 
seas on  the  battle  front. 

"When  a  wounded  man  is  invalided  back  to  Canada, 
he  is  sent  to  the  military  depot  nearest  his  home.  He 

128 


THE  PRACTICAL  CANADIAN  SYSTEM 

is  naturally  anxious  to  see  his  people,  and  if  he  is  able 
to  travel,  he  is  given  a  ten-day  furlough  to  visit  his 
home,  exclusive  of  time  occupied  in  going  and  com- 
ing. If  further  hospital  treatment  is  needed,  on 
return  from  the  furlough  the  man  reports  to  the 
designated  hospital,  usually  selected  by  the  author- 
ities on  account  of  its  proximity  to  the  place  of  resi- 
dence of  the  patient's  family  or  friends. 

The  man,  having  talked  the  matter  over  with  his 
family,  decides  to  go  in  for  reeducation,  or  perhaps 
he  has  not  made  up  his  mind  definitely.  In  any  case, 
as  soon  as  possible  after  he  gets  to  the  hospital,  he 
is  seen  by  the  "vocational  adviser,"  who  is  an  officer 
of  the  Invalided  Soldiers'  Commission.  This  adviser 
is  under  the  direction  of  a  higher  official  who  is  in 
charge  of  a  certain  area  and  is  known  as  the  "district 
vocational  officer."  Under  him  are  the  various  hos- 
pital advisers  and  a  medical  man  who  considers  each 
man's  case  with  his  adviser.  If  it  appears  that  the 
injury  will  clear  up  in  time  and  that  the  man  will  be 
able  to  go  back  to  some  phase  of  his  former  occupa- 
tion, the  vocational  adviser  and  the  doctor  endeavor 
to  induce  him  to  enter  classes  that  will  improve  him 
and  make  him  a  more  valuable  man,  even  if  he  is  not 
going  in  for  a  regular  course  of  vocational  reeduca- 
tion. In  other  words,  the  occupational  therapy  of 
the  hospital  is  made  to  serve  a  practical  purpose,  and 
it  has  been  the  means  of  returning  many  a  man  to  his 
calling  much  more  expert  than  he  formerly  was. 
Workshops  are  connected  with  the  hospitals  for  their 
curative  value,  and  usually  also  there  are  classes  for 
general  education  and  for  some  occupations  that 
may  be  taught  without  elaborate  equipment,  such  as 

129 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

drafting,  bookkeeping,  stenography  and  typewriting, 
and  the  like. 

If  at  the  end  of  his  hospital  treatment  the  man  is 
able  to  return  to  his  former  civil  occupation,  the  voca- 
tional work  with  him  is  ended.  But  if  his  condition 
as  a  result  of  military  service,  whether  because  of 
wounds  or  of  disease,  is  such  that  he  cannot  resume 
his  former  civil  occupation,  he  then  becomes  a  sub- 
ject for  further  reeducation  at  public  expense.  He 
is  carefully  examined  and  a  record  is  made  of  the 
various  occupations  he  has  followed,  his  principal 
trade  or  occupation,  and  his  education,  mentality  and 
capabilities.  In  considering  his  vocational  future, 
special  effort  is  made  to  ascertain  the  wishes  and 
inclinations  of  the  man  himself,  the  idea  being  that 
unless  the  man  is  willing  and  really  desires  to  go  into 
the  occupation  for  which  he  is  being  trained,  it  is 
more  than  likely  that  all  effort  will  be  wasted  upon 
him.  Often  the  man's  own  choice  is  not  an  appro- 
priate one.  It  is  then  the  duty  of  the  vocational 
adviser  to  direct  him  into  something  for  which  he  can 
be  trained  with  a  good  prospect  of  employment  after 
the  war,  because,  after  all,  the  test  of  the  success  of 
training  for  a  new  job  can  be  measured  only  by  the 
ability  of  the  man  to  hold  it. 

The  duty  of  the  medical  officer  has  been  more  to 
indicate  the  things  the  man  is  not  fit  for,  from  a 
medical  standpoint,  than  to  suggest  trades  to  train 
for.  For  example,  the  medical  officer  may  find  that 
a  man  had  suffered  from  epilepsy,  and  will  indicate 
that  the  man  should  not  be  trained  for  any  occupa- 
tion which  would  cause  him  to  be  near  dangerous  or 
rapidly  moving  machinery;  or  that  he  has  perhaps 

130 


THE  PRACTICAL  CANADIAN  SYSTEM 

become  subject  through  exposure  to  recurrent  rheu- 
matism, and  should  not  be  given  a  trade  which  would 
involve  any  amount  of  exposure. 

When  it  is  established  that  the  man  must  be  re- 
trained, a  committee  composed  of  the  vocational  offi- 
cer, a  special  medical  officer  who  has  studied  the  case 
and  considered  the  man's  capabilities,  and  a  third 
man,  chosen  because  of  his  knowledge  of  local 
economic  conditions  and  industries,  the  possibilities  of 
employment  and  the  likelihood  of  new  jobs,  sit  on  the 
case.  The  third  man  is  not  always  the  same.  If  a 
special  trade  is  being  considered,  the  third  man  may 
be  invited  because  of  his  special  knowledge  of  that 
trade  or  industry,  the  demand  for  labor  and  the 
prospects  of  steady  work  therein. 

The  guiding  thought  of  the  board  is:  "  Can  we 
put  him  back  in  his  own  industry?"  By  returning 
the  man  to  some  branch  of  his  former  calling,  his 
valuable  training  and  education,  obtained  in  the  exer- 
cise of  it,  are  not  thrown  away.  If  he  cannot  go  back 
to  his  former  occupation,  he  can  often  be  fitted  for 
some  other  branch  of  the  same  trade.  For  example, 
a  structural-iron  man,  used  to  working  on  skyscrapers 
and  iron  bridges,  may  have  a  stiff  knee,  incapacitating 
him  for  his  former  job.  In  such  case  he  would 
probably  be  trained  as  an  office  man  in  steelworks 
making  the  product  with  which  he  had  formerly 
worked  and  was  thoroughly  familiar.  The  training 
would  be  some  six  months  in  a  technical  school,  where, 
among  other  things,  he  would  study  shop  arithmetic, 
shop  mathematics,  drafting,  and  related  subjects.  His 
knowledge  as  an  iron  worker  is  supplemented  and 
enlarged. 

131 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

If,  however,  the  possibilities  of  the  man's  former 
line  of  work  are  exhausted,  the  board  turns  to  some 
allied  industry.  As  an  instance  may  be  cited  the 
training  of  a  former  rough  barn  carpenter  and 
wooden-bridge  builder.  He  was  rendered  incapable 
of  enduring  exposure  or  heavy  work,  but  with  little 
difficulty  he  was  made  into  an  excellent  factory 
cabinetmaker.  The  same  general  principle  applies 
all  along  the  line,  in  ascertaining  what  is  best  in  view 
of  the  particular  case,  the  history  of  the  man,  his 
trade  knowledge  and  capabilities,  and  his  personal 
preference. 

Farmers  are  given  special  inducements  to  go  back 
on  the  land.  They  are  trained  as  tractor  and  farm 
mechanics,  as  creamery  men,  in  poultry  raising  and 
truck  growing,  both  under  glass  and  out  of  doors,  and 
in  various  other  branches  of  agriculture  that  can  be 
followed  despite  the  injuries.  The  Government  is 
extremely  anxious  to  get  as  many  men  on  the  land 
as  possible,  and  under  certain  conditions  will  give 
homesteads  and  lend  money  to  develop  them. 

There  are  many  hospitals  in  alt  parts  of  the 
Dominion  that  have  shops  and  facilities  of  various 
sorts.  Altogether  the  Canadian  Government  has  been 
training  disabled  men  in  some  two  hundred  occupa- 
tions. 

A  great  many  of  the  returned  soldiers  want  to  take 
the  training  for  reeducation,  but  the  Government  has 
thus  far  stuck  closely  to  its  original  plan,  the  re- 
educating only  of  those  who  are  so  disabled  that  they 
cannot  return  to  their  former  occupations.  However, 
any  man  in  a  hospital  may  start  on  any  appropriate 
course  being  given  in  the  hospital,  and  thus  better 

132 


THE  PRACTICAL  CANADIAN  SYSTEM 

himself  and  increase  his  trade  knowledge.  The  men 
are  encouraged  to  do  so,  but  this  training  ends  when 
the  man 's  hospital  sojourn  ends.  He  may  continue  it 
afterwards  without  cost  to  himself,  but  he  cannot  be 
allowed  pay  and  family  maintenance  allowances. 
Men  are  given  on  discharge  a  bonus  of  three  months' 
pay,  and  numbers  of  them,  feeling  the  need  of  more 
specialized  education  in  their  trades,  are  taking  the 
free  education  thus  offered.  The  men  are  encouraged 
in  every  way  to  take  it. 

Sometimes  it  happens  that  the  trade  selected  is 
ascertained  after  the  man  has  started  training  to  be 
not  suitable  for  him.  The  choice  is  then  rectified  and 
he  is  started  on  something  else  that  promises  to  give 
the  desired  results  in  efficiency. 

Mr.  Kidner  has  recently  stated  the  problem  as  he 
views  it: 

There  are  two  opposite  poles  of  thought  in  this  question 
of  dealing  with  the  returned  man.  There  is  the  man  who 
says  we  cannot  do  too  much  for  the  returned  man  in  the 
way  of  his  reeducation,  and  that  we  should  carry  it  as  far 
as  possible.  Those  are  the  men  who  would  give  the  re- 
turned man  a  high-school  education  and  a  college  course 
after  it. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  is  the  so-called  practical  man 
who  says :  "  All  you  need  to  do  is  to  train  these  chaps  for  a 
job  in  the  quickest  possible  time !"  And  there  are  plenty 
of  jobs  today.  The  truth  lies  somewhere  in  between. 
There  are  certain  men  for  whom  the  best  thing  you  can  do 
is  to  train  them  for  a  job  and  get  them  into  the  job  and  put 
them  to  work.  But,  remembering  that  jobs  are  easily  ob- 
tained at  the  present  time,  one  must  think  ahead  a  little  and 
say :  "  What  are  these  men  going  to  do  when  the  inevitable 
economic  pressure  comes  after  the  war,  when,  instead  of 
there  being  three  jobs  for  every  man,  there  are  three  men 

133 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

for  every  job?"  So  I  think  a  medium  plan  should  be 
adopted.  We  should  always  have  before  us  the  possibility 
of  discovering  men  of  exceptional  talent  and  ability  who 
have  not  found  a  way  out  before,  and  we  should  not  limit 
the  training  which  we  give  to  exceptional  men,  but  neither 
should  we  succumb  to  the  temptation  of  merely  training  a 
man  in  the  quickest  possible  way  for  a  job  in  a  factory,  or 
some  specialized  industry;  but  we  should  give  every  man  a 
little  technical  training  along  with  his  industrial  training. 
Our  average  course  in  Canada  —  the  average  course  in 
length,  is  about  six  and  a  half  months,  but  where  it  is  neces- 
sary to  make  a  man  efficient,  we  will  put  in  longer  time 
upon  him.  The  course  is  also  largely  an  individual  matter, 
dependent  upon  the  capacities  of  the  student,  and  what  he 
has  to  assimilate  and  master. 

There  is  ample  machinery  for  placement ;  after  the 
men  have  been  reeducated,  the  proper  authorities 
take  them  in  hand  and  usually  have  them  placed  in 
wage-earning  occupations  within  a  few  days  after 
they  are  ready  to  take  a  job.  The  result  has  been 
that  with  the  better  wages  the  men  receive  by  reason 
of  having  been  made  skilled  workmen,  they  very  often 
make  much  more  than  they  did  before  the  war  when 
they  were  entirely  whole,  and  with  their  pensions  and 
earnings  together  are  comfortably  off  in  the  way  of 
income. 

By  the  cessation  of  hostilities  Canada  had  raised, 
equipped,  and  sent  overseas  a  total  of  418,052  troops. 
A  total  of  220,182  casualties,  with  60,383  dead,  was 
suffered  by  Canadian  forces  up  to  December  31,  1918, 
according  to  the  official  announcement  made  by  the 
Canadian  Government  on  January  2,  1919.  Of  this 
total,  9,989  were  officers  and  204,397  of  other  ranks. 
The  list  as  issued  is : 

134 


THE  PRACTICAL  CANADIAN  SYSTEM 

Total 
35,666 
12,420 
5,405 
155,799 
3,575 
4,671 
425 
2,221 

Totals 9,989        204,397        220,182 

Total  deaths,  60,383. 


Killed  in  action  

Officers 
1,842 

Others 

33,824 

Died  of  wounds  

614 

11,806 

Died  of  disease  

220 

5,185 

Wounded  

7,130 

148,669 

Prisoners  of  war  

Presumed  dead  

142 

4  529 

Missing  

41 

384 

Deaths  in  Canada  

135 


CHAPTER  XI 

AUSTRALIA,   NEW  ZEALAND,  SOUTH  AFRICA,  AND  INDIA 

Australian  Kepatriation  Commission  —  State  and  local  boards 
—  Registration  and  retraining  —  Returning  soldiers  to  the 
land  —  New  Zealand  Discharged  Soldiers '  Information 
Department  —  Preferential  employment  and  placement  of 
returned  soldiers  —  Vocational  retraining  not  popular  — 
Facilities  for  agricultural,  clerical  and  technical  training  — 
Reeducation  in  South  Africa  left  to  private  initiative  — 
The  Johannesburg  Relief  Association  —  Training  at  the 
South  African  Military  Hospital,  near  London  — Imperial 
Indian  Relief  Fund  —  Queen  Mary 's  School  at  Bombay. 

In  the  first  years  of  the  war,  the  work  of  ' '  repatria- 
tion,"  as  it  is  called,  in  Australia  was  entirely  in 
the  hands  of  private  philanthropy  and  patriotism. 
An  Australian  Soldiers'  Kepatriation  Fund  of  con- 
siderable proportions  was  raised,  but  it  finally  be- 
came evident  that  private  efforts  were  not  meeting  the 
problem.  They  were  diverse  and  divergent,  without 
central  cohesion  or  authority.  The  conviction  grew 
that,  as  the  country  had  called  the  men  for  overseas 
service,  the  Nation  should  direct  their  return  to  and 
establishment  in  civil  life. 

As  a  result,  the  Australian  Soldiers  Repatriation 
Act  was  passed  by  the  Commonwealth  Parliament  in 
September,  1917,  placing  the  whole  work  in  the  hands 
of  a  Repatriation  Commission  of  seven  members. 
The  Minister  of  State  for  Repatriation  is  chairman, 
and  two  of  the  members  are  returned  soldiers.  The 
Commission's  duty  is  to  plan  the  general  course  of 
repatriation  and  supervise  the  work  of  putting  it  into 

136 


OTHER  BRITISH  DOMINIONS 

effect.  The  active  work  of  carrying  out  the  plan  is 
done  through  state  repatriation  boards,  which,  under 
the  Act,  are  established  in  the  capital  of  each  state. 
Each  state  board  has  seven  members,  all  appointed 
by  the  Governor-General,  and  each  board  has  as 
members  two  returned  soldiers  or  sailors.  Under 
the  direction  of  the  state  boards  are  district  or  local 
boards. 

The  Repatriation  Commission  was  authorized  by 
the  Act  to  take  over  all  the  properties  and  securities 
of  the  Australian  Soldiers  Repatriation  Fund,  but 
all  sums  needed  for  carrying  on  the  work  are  appro- 
priated by  the  Government.  No  voluntary  contri- 
butions are  sought  for  the  central  Fund,  this  being 
supported  by  the  national  treasury,  but  local  com- 
mittees are  given  rather  a  free  hand  in  raising  and 
disbursing  funds,  except  that  their  activities  are  con- 
trolled and  their  books  are  audited  by  the  state  boards. 

The  first  duty  of  the  Repatriation  Commission  is  to 
register  the  condition  and  requirements  of  all  re- 
turned soldiers  before  their  arrival  in  the  country. 
The  voyage  out  on  the  returning  transports  is  utilized 
for  this  purpose.  All  registrations  of  soldiers  that 
show  a  need  for  help  are  dealt  with  by  the  state 
boards  assisted  by  local  committees.  The  latter  are 
expected  to  investigate  employment  opportunities 
and  they  use  the  system  of  placement  agencies  for  the 
returned  men. 

Curative  workshops  are  attached  to  the  larger 
hospitals,  and  advanced  technical  training  is  given  to 
those  who  are  so  disabled  as  to  require  it.  For  the 
totally  disabled,  homes  are  established  for  those  who 
choose  to  become  inmates,  and  a  special  allowance  of 

137 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

10s.  a  week  is  granted  those  who  prefer  to  be  cared 
for  by  relatives  or  friends.  Artificial  limbs  are  pro- 
vided by  the  Government  military  authorities. 

The  matter  of  establishing  men  upon  the  land  has 
received  a  great  deal  of  attention.  Probably  in  none 
of  the  countries  engaged  in  the  war  has  there  been  a 
higher  percentage  of  men  who  desire  to  get  on  the 
land.  A  questionnaire  submitted  to  the  Australian 
soldiers  brought  replies  from  40,000  who  wished  to 
become  land  holders  and  cultivators.  At  a  confer- 
ence held  in  February,  1917,  between  representatives 
of  the  Commonwealth  and  the  state  Governments  on 
the  subject  of  land  settlement  as  a  repatriation 
measure,  a  plan  was  worked  out  whereby  it  could  be 
accomplished.  As  the  states  possess  the  crown  lands, 
have  land  departments  and  control  land  legislation, 
they  undertook  to  provide  the  land  and  place  the 
soldier  settlers  on  it.  The  Commonwealth  Govern- 
ment was  to  have  as  its  part  the  lending  to  each 
settler  of  a  sum  of  money  sufficient  to  enable  him  to 
make  improvements  and  buy  seeds,  plants,  stock,  and 
the  like. 

The  usual  limit  of  advance  is  500?.  sterling  but  in 
some  cases  750Z.  sterling  is  allowed.  The  land  is 
usually  given  free  for  the  first  five  years;  after  that 
period  small  payments  are  required.  The  money  for 
equipment  is  loaned  at  seven  per  cent.,  of  which  five 
per  cent,  covers  the  interest  charge  and  two  per  cent, 
goes  toward  amortization  of  the  capital  amount.  It 
has  been  agreed  also  between  the  Commonwealth 
Government  and  the  states  that  training  farms  should 
be  established  in  order  to  equip  the  soldier  settlers  in 
some  measure  for  their  new  tasks,  the  cost  of  such 

138 


OTHER  BRITISH  DOMINIONS 

training  farms  to  be  divided  equally  between  the  Com- 
monwealth and  the  state. 

The  Government  of  New  Zealand  has  established 
machinery  called  the  Discharged  Soldiers'  Informa- 
tion Department,  which  is  charged  with  obtaining  em- 
ployment for  returned  soldiers  and  assisting  them 
by  every  possible  means  in  the  readaptation  to  civil 
life,  with  especial  reference  to  the  men  who  have 
suffered  impairment  of  earning  power  and  are  perma- 
nently disabled.  The  Department  is  actively  as- 
sisted in  its  work  by  local  committees  in  all  principal 
towns.  These  committees  are  composed  of  influential 
citizens  and  representatives  of  local  patriotic  societies. 
They  afford  an  enormously  valuable  assistance  in 
dealing  with  particular  cases. 

New  Zealand  is  able,  by  reason  of  her  geographical 
location,  to  obtain  complete  data  of  every  man  in- 
valided home.  The  long  voyage  of  the  transports 
gives  time  for  every  man  to  be  recorded  and  classified 
and  a  full  report  of  his  case  card  indexed  before 
arrival  at  a  home  port. 

The  Government  has  instructed  all  of  its  depart- 
ments that  ex-members  of  the  expeditionary  forces 
are  to  be  given  preference  for  all  vacancies  they  are 
qualified  to  fill,  and  the  Information  Department  has 
conducted  a  propaganda  to  obtain  preference  in  em- 
ployment opportunities  for  the  returned  men.  All 
agencies  have  been  utilized  —  farmers'  unions, 
patriotic  organizations,  local  authorities,  and  private 
employers  have  all  been  interested.  The  Department 
keeps  a  card  index  of  men  waiting  for  employment, 
one  set  being  classified  according  to  occupation  and 

139 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

another  according  to  residence ;  offers  of  employment 
also  are  suitably  indexed. 

A  statement  of  the  number  of  candidates  for  em- 
ployment in  each  district  is  sent  weekly  to  the  local 
committee.  Up  to  January,  1918,  the  total  number 
of  men  registered  was  14,240,  this  including  the  gen- 
eral type  of  invalid  as  well  as  physical  disablements. 
Of  this  total,  10,195  cases  had  been  disposed  of,  that 
is,  had  found  employment,  returned  to  old  employ- 
ment, rejoined  the  forces,  failed  to  reply  to  repeated 
communications,  or  left  New  Zealand.  There  were 
1,420  cases  in  course  of  being  personally  interviewed 
—  men  not  ready  for  work,  and  the  like.  There  were 
219  on  the  register  of  those  wanting  employment,  this 
class  being  composed  mainly  of  men  who  had  just 
been  discharged.  There  were  2,406  recorded  as  "not 
ready  for  action"  —  men  not  discharged  from  the 
Army,  and  2,000  of  this  number  represented  a  con- 
tingent that  arrived  in  the  two  weeks  preceding  the 
date  of  the  report. 

The  efforts  to  get  the  men  to  take  special  training 
are  reported  as  "not  encouraging;  and  the  response 
has  been  indifferent."  The  Department  endeavors 
to  dissuade  men  capable  of  more  skilled  occupa- 
tions from  taking  on  such  casual  employment  as  those 
of  messenger  and  elevator  boys,  but  many  of  the 
returning  soldiers  decline  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
facilities  offered  for  training  in  new  trades.  One  of 
the  reasons,  entirely  erroneous  and  unfounded,  is 
given  as  fear  that  the  man 's  pension  will  be  cut  down 
if  he  increases  his  earning  capacity. 

Arrangement  has  been  made  with  the  Department 
of  Agriculture  to  take  on  a  limited  number  of  men 

140 


OTHER  BRITISH  DOMINIONS 

for  instruction  at  state  farms.  Here  will  be  taught 
dairying,  fruit  farming,  cropping,  poultry  raising, 
bee  culture  and  market  gardening.  In  scientific 
training,  Lincoln  College,  at  Wellington,  takes  a 
limited  number  of  students  in  agricultural  and 
pastoral  subjects.  Clerical  training  for  disabled 
soldiers  is  provided  free  of  expense  to  the  Govern- 
ment or  the  men  by  the  New  Zealand  Society  of 
Accountants.  Reports  are  that ' '  a  considerable  num- 
ber have  entered  the  classes,  but  with  few  exceptions 
the  attendance  has  been  desultory  and  progress  poor, 
and  it  has  lately  been  intimated  to  the  Department 
that  the  council  of  the  Society  is  now  considering 
whether  it  is  justified  in  continuing  the  expenditure 
of  some  hundreds  of  pounds  sterling,  for  such  un- 
satisfactory results. ' ' 

Disabled  men  incapacitated  for  returning  to  their 
former  occupations  are  offered  free  tuition  at  the 
various  technical  schools  through  the  country.  At 
Wellington  Technical  College,  courses  are  provided 
in  building  construction,  painting,  decoration  and 
sign  writing,  carpentry  and  joinery,  plumbing,  ma- 
chine work,  jewelry  making,  metalwork,  plastering 
and  modelling.  Training  for  the  disabled  soldiers 
has  been  inaugurated  also  at  the  technical  schools  at 
Christchurch,  Dunedin  and  Invercargill.  The  most 
popular  subjects  are  reported  as  being  wool-classing 
and  machine-tool  work.  Up  to  December,  1917,  there 
had  been  enrolled  in  reeducation  classes  only  63  men. 
Men  partially  or  totally  blind  are  given  training  at 
the  Jubilee  Institute. 

The  Government  grants  to  men  taking  training  a 
"training  allowance"  of  one  pound  per  week,  irre- 

141 


EEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

spective  of  pension  payments,  and  the  Government 
has  allowed  disabled  men  to  accept  positions  at  rates 
of  pay  less  than  those  fixed  by  current  awards  or 
agreements  and  minimum-wage  legislation.  The  Gov- 
ernment also  allows  the  training  of  disabled  men  in 
private  factories;  this  legislation  was  necessary  be- 
cause of  the  peculiar  labor  situation  in  New  Zealand. 
The  establishment  of  special  schools  for  the  re- 
education of  war  cripples  has  been  urged  by  various 
individuals  and  organizations.  The  minister  in 
charge  of  the  Discharged  Soldiers'  Information  De- 
partment, however,  declined  to  approve  or  support 
the  scheme,  giving  as  his  reason  the  very  limited  use 
that  had  been  made  of  existing  facilities  and  the  un- 
likelihood that  special  buildings,  apparatus  and  insti- 
tutions would  be  used  to  any  greater  extent.  Be- 
cause of  the  doubt  that  the  results  would  justify  the 
expense,  nothing  has  been  done  toward  creating 
special  schools. 

Men  of  the  British  forces  disabled  in  operations  in 
Africa  are  given  medical  care  in  hospitals  in  prin- 
cipal centers  of  the  Union  of  South  Africa.  Those 
requiring  artificial  limbs  are  sent  ultimately  to  the 
hospital  at  Richmond,  near  London. 

No  provision  appears  to  have  been  made  by  the 
Union  Government  for  the  reeducation  and  place- 
ment of  disabled  men.  The  matter  is  left  to  local  and 
private  initiative.  In  Capetown  and  other  places 
there  are  local  boards  for  vocational  education  which 
attempt  to  provide  both  reeducation  and  employ- 
ment. In  other  places  associations  have  been  formed 
for  the  purpose  of  finding  work  for  and  extending 

142 


OTHER  BRITISH  DOMINIONS 

general  relief  to  discharged  and  returned  men.  The 
association  at  Johannesburg  is  reported  to-,  have  ob- 
tained a  promise  from  the  Union  Government  that  no 
man  would  be  discharged  from  the  base  hospitals 
until  he  was  fit  to  receive  civil  employment  or  his 
relatives  were  willing  to  undertake  his  care. 

In  1917  the  Johannesburg  Relief  Association  organ- 
ized for  the  care  and  relief  of  returned  soldiers  and 
declared  reeducation  of  these  men  to  be  one  of  its 
chief  purposes.  Plans  were  made  to  ascertain  the 
capabilities  of  each  man,  decide  the  proper  class  of 
work  for  him,  and  so  on.  The  training  was  to  be 
given  in  technical  institutions  and  in  public  and 
private  workshops.  A  survey  of  these  facilities  was 
made,  preliminary  organization  work  done,  and  em- 
ployers interested  and  asked  to  give  places  to  the 
men. 

The  South  African  soldiers  disabled  in  military 
operations  in  Europe,  on  the  other  hand,  are  well 
taken  care  of  as  regards  reeducation.  At  Richmond 
Park,  near  London,  the  South  African  Military  Hos- 
pital has  been  in  operation  for  some  time.  To  enter 
the  course  of  training  is  optional,  but  having  entered, 
the  man  must  submit  to  military  discipline  and  incur 
military  penalties  for  failure  to  obey  the  rules.  The 
idea  of  obtaining  the  benefits  of  reeducation  has  ap- 
pealed strongly  to  the  South  African  disabled  and 
the  percentage  of  those  going  in  for  reeducation  is  as 
high  as  90  per  cent.  The  work  begins  at  an  early 
stage  of  convalescence.  When  a  man  arrives  at  the 
hospital  he  is  classified  in  one  of  three  classes:  (1) 
certainly  unfit  for  further  military  duty;  (2)  doubt- 
ful; (3)  expected  to  become  fit.  If  he  falls  into  the 

143 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

first  class,  his  reeducation  commences  at  the  earliest 
possible  moment. 

The  curriculum  is  varied  and  broad.  It  includes 
bookkeeping,  shorthand,  typewriting,  secretarial  work, 
accounting,  metal  working,  carpentry  and  cabinet- 
making,  electricity,  stationary-engine  operating,  and 
the  like.  Only  instructors  of  high  skill  are  em- 
ployed. The  result  is  that  work  fully  up  to  expert 
standards  is  turned  out.  The  men  realize  that  they 
are  being  given  an  extraordinary  opportunity,  and 
they  are  very  anxious  to  avail  themselves  of  it. 

The  training  does  not  cease  when  the  men  are  dis- 
charged from  the  hospital.  Quarters  have  been  pro- 
provided  on  the  grounds  where  those  not  needing 
further  hospital  treatment  can  live  comfortably  until 
they  finish  their  courses.  They  remain  in  uniform 
and  under  military  discipline  as  long  as  they  are  in 
the  school.  A  number  of  the  graduates  have  passed 
examinations  of  the  London  Chamber  of  Commerce 
and  the  National  Union  of  Teachers. 

The  Imperial  Indian  Belief  Fund,  among  other 
functions,  has  that  of  extending  relief  to  permanently 
disabled  soldiers  and  their  families.  Bureaus  have 
been  established  at  various  centers  for  the  employ- 
ment of  disabled  men,  for  placement  purposes,  and 
the  like.  Chambers  of  commerce  and  such  associa- 
tions are  cooperating  in  finding  civil  employment  for 
disabled,  discharged  and  pensioned  soldiers. 

There  are  military  hospitals  at  Bombay,  Cawnpore 
and  Umballa,  and  Bed  Cross  hospitals  at  Mussorie 
and  Delhra  Dun.  The  marine  hospital  at  Bombay 
takes  care  of  all  cases  requiring  artificial  limbs. 

144 


OTHER  BRITISH  DOMINIONS 

Orthopaedic  and  organic  treatments  are  given  at  the 
other  hospitals. 

In  May,  1917,  a  technical  school  for  disabled 
soldiers  was  established  at  Bombay,  called  Queen 
Mary's  School.  Funds  were  raised  mainly  through 
efforts  of  Lady  Willingdon,  wife  of  the  Governor  of 
Bombay.  The  institution  accommodates  200  men. 
Disabled  soldiers  in  various  parts  of  the  country  who 
want  to  attend  are  provided  with  railway  fare,  a 
return  ticket  and  traveling  expenses.  The  school  is 
under  joint  military  and  civil  administration  and 
finance.  The  military  authorities  defray  the  charges 
of  fitting  artificial  limbs  and  teaching  their  use.  The 
educational  side  of  the  work  is  under  civilian 
auspices,  the  cost  being  met  in  part  by  the  Bombay 
Women 's  Branch  of  the  Indian  War  Relief  Fund  and 
in  part  by  private  subscriptions.  Training  courses 
average  six  months  in  length.  The  selection  of  a  trade 
to  train  for  is  optional;  each  man  takes  that  which 
most  appeals  to  him  and  in  which  he  thinks  his  chances 
are  best.  The  men  are  fed,  supplied  with  clothes  and 
given  quarters,  and  those  graduating  in  a  trade  re- 
quiring tools  are  usually  supplied  with  a  set  on 
leaving. 

Among  the  subjects  taught  are  tailoring,  hosiery 
knitting,  dyeing,  making  of  artificial  flowers,  car- 
pentry, elementary  engineering,  motor-car  mechanics, 
stationary  engineering,  agriculture,  poultry  farming, 
truck  gardening,  and  the  like.  A  placement  com- 
mittee is  attached  to  the  institution,  constantly  en- 
deavoring to  find  employment  for  the  men.  They 
are  used  as  tailors  in  regiments  and  at  Army  clothing 
departments  and  as  chauffeurs  in  the  Army  mechani- 

145 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

cal-transport  departments.  Others  are  used  as 
turners,  fitters,  machinists,  engine  drivers,  ammuni- 
tion-box makers,  and  the  like,  in  Government  dock 
yards,  ordnance  factories  and  arsenals.  Private 
factories  and  workshops  also  absorb  numbers  of  them. 
It  is  estimated  that  the  skilled  men  are  able  to  add 
from  20  to  100  rupees  per  month  to  their  pensions  as 
a  result  of  their  training  and  subsequent  placement  in 
some  line  of  work. 


146 


CHAPTER  XH 

ITALY  AND  HER  SPECIAL  PROBLEMS 

Italy  unprovided  with  facilities  at  the  begining  of  the  war  — 
The  Milan  Institute  dei  Racliitice  —  Provincial  and  local 
committees  —  Voluntary  national  federation  of  commit- 
tees—  National  Board  for  the  Protection  and  Assistance 
of  War  Invalids  —  Its  creation  and  functions  —  The 
national  rehabilitation  system  —  Placements  after  restora- 
tion —  The  disabled  and  accident  insurance  —  The  prob- 
lem of  illiteracy  —  Courses  in  the  handicrafts  —  National 
War  Cripples  Association  —  Italian  casualties. 

Italy  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  had  practically 
no  facilities  for  the  work  of  caring  for  and  rehabili- 
tating disabled  men.  There  were  few  social  organ- 
izations competent  to  undertake  it;  there  were  only 
a  few  homes  for  cripples,  really  no  system  of  educa- 
tion for  them,  and  no  factories  for  the  manufacture 
of  artificial  limbs.  Diverse  and  scattered  private 
agencies  began  the  work,  and  these  initial  efforts  were 
later  adjusted  and  coordinated  for  the  work  in  hand. 

The  Milan  Institute  del  Eachitice,  which  served  as 
a  model  for  succeeding  institutions,  was  the  only 
institution  really  started  to  meet  the  emergency  dur- 
ing the  first  year  of  Italy's  participation  in  the  war. 
A  provincial  committee  was  organized  in  Lombardy 
in  connection  with  the  Milan  Institute  for  the  purpose 
of  giving  orthopaedic  treatment  to  injured  men.  This 
committee  was  planned  to  work  in  close  cooperation 
with  the  military  authorities,  and  the  institution  was 
made  a  military  reserve  hospital,  the  officers  being 
given  military  rank.  Men  were  sent  there  direct 

147 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

from  the  field  hospitals  and  given  orthopaedic  treat- 
ment under  military  discipline.  The  Government 
and  the  Lombardy  committee  shared  the  expense  of 
buildings  and  upkeep,  the  Government  paying  an 
agreed  sum  per  day  for  each  man's  board,  and  the 
committee  making  a  small  allowance  to  the  man. 
After  the  men  have  been  given  orthopgedic  treatment, 
if  they  desire  it  and  the  committee  decides  they  are 
suitable  subjects  for  vocational  education,  they  are 
transferred  to  a  subsidiary  convalescent  home  for 
trade  training,  this  also  being  carried  out  under 
military  control.  The  choice  of  trade  or  occupation 
is  voluntary  with  the  patient. 

In  November,  1917,  there  wrere  in  all  24  provincial 
committees  operating  on  the  Lombard}7"  plan,  capable 
of  accommodating  about  20  per  cent,  of  all  the  war 
cripples.  There  was  no  coherency  among  the  pro- 
vincial committees,  and  the  lack  of  coordination  led 
to  the  formation  of  a  voluntary  national  federation  of 
committees  for  the  assistance  of  blind,  lame  and  crip- 
pled soldiers.  Its  function  was,  in  the  main,  ad- 
visory, and  the  local  committees  were  independent  of 
it.  These  local  committees  have  no  common  standard 
of  organization.  In  Lombardy  and  in  Sicily,  for  in- 
stance, there  is  only  one  committee  for  the  whole 
province  and  the  work  is  concentrated  in  the  largest 
city;  in  other  provinces  there  are  groups  of  small 
committees  working  in  coordination  and  running  sev- 
eral small  separate  schools.  The  main  function  of 
the  federation  was  to  coordinate  and  supervise  the 
work  of  local  committees,  to  inform  them  of  new  de- 
velopments in  the  work,  and  to  devote  its  main  ener- 
gies to  legal  measures  for  the  care  of  war  cripples. 

148 


ITALY  AND  HER  SPECIAL  PROBLEMS 

A  monthly  magazine  was  published  by  the  federation, 
handling  topics  of  special  interest. 

The  Italian  Government  on  March  25,  1917,  passed 
a  law  creating  the  National  Board  for  the  Protection 
and  Assistance  of  War  Invalids.  This  law  is  the 
real  basis  for  Italian  reeducational  work.  The  scope 
of  authority  of  the  Board  is  to  provide  medical  treat- 
ment if  treatment  supplementary  to  that  given  by  the 
Army  medical  authorities  is  needed,  and  to  afford 
material  relief  for  reeducation,  placement,  claiming 
and  adjustment  of  pensions. 

The  National  Board,  which  replaced  the  voluntary 
federation  of  committees,  did  not  take  over  these 
duties.  It  is  supervisory  and  cooperative,  and  fills 
in  gaps  where  they  appear.  The  schools  of  reeduca- 
tion remain  under  the  management  of  local  commit- 
tees, the  Board  acting  in  a  supervisory  and  inspect- 
ing capacity.  It  issues  charters  to  new  committees 
and  calls  in  those  previously  granted  when  suitable 
standards  are  not  reached. 

The  Board  is  composed  of  19  members.  Four  are 
elected  by  Parliament,  two  Senators  and  two  Depu- 
ties. The  Crown  appoints  the  other  15  on  the  sug- 
gestion of  the  Prime  Minister,  as  follows:  five  minis- 
terial nominees  representing  the  ministries  of  the 
Interior,  War,  Navy,  Treasury,  and  Industry  and 
Labor ;  two  nominees  of  the  Surgeon-General  possess- 
ing special  technical  qualifications ;  three  nominees  of 
the  volunteer  associations  for  the  care  of  war  crip- 
ples ;  and  four  elected  by  the  National  War  Cripples 
Association. 

Annual  appropriation  is  made  for  the  support  of 
the  Board  from  the  budget  of  the  Ministry  of  the 

149 


EEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

Interior,  and  it  is  under  the  direction  of  the  Minister 
of  that  governmental  division.  A  report  must  be 
made  to  him  annually  which  he  is  required  to  present 
to  Parliament.  The  headquarters  of  the  Board  is  in 
Rome,  the  office  quarters  and  force  being  supplied  by 
the  Government.  It  is  supposed  to  have  an  author- 
ized representative  in  every  locality  and  thus  work 
in  close  connection  with  all  the  societies  and  institu- 
tions over  the  country  having  to  do  with  war  cripples 
and  their  rehabilitation. 

The  law  creating  the  National  Board  prescribes 
generally  the  system  for  treating  cripples  in  all  parts 
of  Italy.  After  the  first  surgical  treatment,  cripples 
are  to  be  sent  to  one  of  the  nine  military  reserve  hos- 
pitals for  orthopaedic  treatment,  located  at  Turin, 
Milan,  Genoa,  Verona,  Bologna,  Florence,  Rome, 
Naples  and  Palermo.  The  soldier  in  each  case  is  to 
be  assigned  to  the  hospital  nearest  his  home,  or  when 
this  is  not  possible,  to  the  next  nearest.  At  these 
hospitals  the  men  are  given  functional  reeducation, 
massage  and  mechano-therapy,  and  furnished  with 
temporary  artificial  limbs  at  the  expense  of  the  Gov- 
ernment. 

When  the  cure  has  progressed  to  a  point  at  which 
reeducation  can  be  commenced,  the  patient  is  given 
usually  a  month's  leave  and  allowed  to  visit  his  home. 
On  the  expiry  of  the  furlough,  those  designated  by 
the  hospital  as  capable  of  reeducation  must  present 
themselves,  under  military  orders,  at  the  nearest  re- 
educational  school.  The  men  not  so  ordered  are  only 
those  hopelessly  crippled  or  those  who  have  given 
proof  that  they  do  not  need  reeducation  or  can  attend 
to  their  own  rehabilitation. 

150 


ITALY  AND  HER  SPECIAL  PROBLEMS 

Under  the  law  the  compulsory  stay  at  the  school  is 
limited  to  15  days.  In  that  time  the  man  is  fitted 
with  his  permanent  artificial  limb  or  other  apparatus, 
which  is  selected  for  him  by  the  Government  experts. 
During  the  time  of  adjustment,  the  authorities  bend 
every  effort  to  convince  him  of  the  value  of  reeduca- 
tion. If  he  agrees  to  take  the  training,  he  remains 
under  military  discipline;  if  he  refuses,  he  is  dis- 
charged by  the  local  military  authority  and  must  shift 
for  himself  as  best  he  can  with  his  pension. 

When  a  man  is  accepted  for  reeducation,  he  re- 
mains a  member  of  the  Army,  and  may  stay  at  the 
school  pursuing  his  course  for  a  maximum  of  six 
months.  The  Ministry  of  "War  pays  the  school  for 
his  maintenance,  and  maintains  his  family  at  the 
same  rate  as  though  the  student  were  in  active  ser- 
vice. If  the  training  is  not  complete  at  the  end  of 
six  months,  the  Board  may  keep  the  student  longer 
at  its  own  expense.  If  ready  to  go  sooner,  or  if  he 
is  unruly  or  proves  to  be  unfit  for  training,  the 
local  military  commander  may  discharge  him  at  any 
time. 

When  a  man  enters  the  school,  a  committee  consist- 
ing of  the  head  physician,  director  of  the  school,  and 
an  inspector  from  the  Ministry  of  Industry  and 
Labor  or  a  person  designated  by  the  National  Board 
passes  upon  his  case.  Proper  consideration  is  given 
to  the  wishes  of  the  cripple  or  his  relatives  or  repre- 
sentative and  of  the  representative  of  the  War  Crip- 
ples Association  attached  to  the  staff.  The  trade  the 
man  is  to  be  trained  for  is  then  decided  upon.  The 
same  committee  decides  when  a  man's  training  has 
been  completed,  and  authorizes  his  dismissal  from  the 

151 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

school.  A  cripple  leaving  the  institution,  after  hav- 
ing done  conscientious  work  and  become  really  able  to 
support  himself,  may  be  given  a  money  prize  by  the 
National  Board. 

After  discharge  from  the  schools  and  the  Army, 
the  National  Board  is  expected  to  assist  the  cripples. 
Those  needing  continued  medical  care,  on  account  of 
developing  illness  or  relapse,  are  provided  for  in  con- 
valescent homes.  For  men  who  have  no  families  to 
return  to,  yet  require  some  looking  after,  it  pays 
board  in  private  families,  who  are  required  to  render 
regular  accounts  and  reports  to  the  Board.  For  all 
men  capable  of  earning  their  own  living,  the  Board 
is  supposed  to  find  positions.  Public  employment 
bureaus  are  subsidized  by  the  State,  and  provincial 
and  communal  employment  bureaus  also  are  expected 
to  attend  to  the  placement  of  war  cripples  without 
charge. 

All  employees  in  civil  service  or  in  charitable  in- 
stitutions who  have  become  war  disabled  have  a  right 
to  reinstatement  if  physically  able  to  do  the  work. 
A  list  of  civil-service  positions  to  be  reserved  for  war 
cripples  has  been  published.  Men  applying  for  them 
must  have  a  physician's  certificate  that  they  are  able 
to  do  the  work,  and  of  such  men  the  most  eligible  will 
be  chosen.  In  competitive  examinations  for  civil- 
service  positions,  other  things  being  equal,  war  crip- 
ples will  be  given  the  preference.  Private  firms  are 
obliged  to  reinstate  their  employees  crippled  in  the 
war  if  the  employee  can  pass  an  examination,  medi- 
cally, proving  fitness  for  the  particular  work.  The 
examination  and  the  certificate  are  furnished  by  the 
National  Board,  which  also  arbitrates  between  the 

152 


ITALY  AND  HER  SPECIAL  PROBLEMS 

cripple  and  his  employer  in  case  the  latter  refuses 
reinstatement  without  reason. 

The  National  Board  looks  after  the  interests  of 
cripples  in  settling  pensions  or  in  any  legal  difficulties 
in  which  they  may  become  involved,  and  also  acts  as 
guardian  for  those  of  unsound  mind.  It  is  the  means 
of  procuring  loans  for  injured  soldiers  on  the  security 
of  their  pensions  to  be  used  for  the  purpose  of  buying 
land. 

Pensions  are  not  to  be  affected  in  any  way  by  either 
reeducation  or  employment  of  those  receiving  them. 
Accident-insurance  companies  are  obliged  to  insure 
war  cripples  on  the  same  terms  as  any  other  work- 
man, and  the  companies  are  not  allowed  to  charge  a 
higher  premium  to  stores  or  factories  where  war  crip- 
ples are  employed  unless  the  number  of  these  passes 
a  certain  proportion.  If  there  is  a  particularly  large 
number  of  war  cripples  in  any  establishment,  a 
slightly  higher  premium  may  be  agreed  upon  with 
the  Ministry  of  Industry  and  Labor. 

The  problem  of  reeducation  in  Italy  is  complicated 
by  the  fact  that  80  per  cent,  of  the  population  are 
peasants  with  no  background  of  experience  in  any 
trade  and  very  illiterate.  The  result  is  that  the  re- 
education schools  must  include  a  much  longer  ele- 
mentary-school course  than  is  required  in  other 
countries,  and  that  the  trades  taught  cannot  be  so 
advanced  and  specialized.  The  character  of  the 
Italian  school  is  formal  and  institutional,  in  order  to 
impress  the  primitive  minds  with  which  it  has  to  deal. 
The  general  plan  of  the  schools  has  more  in  common 
with  that  of  a  regular  public  school  for  children  than 
with  those  in  Germany,  for  instance,  where  the  dis- 

153 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

cipline  is  not  military  and  the  trades  taught  are  suited 
to  mature  and  experienced  men. 

Most  of  the  Italian  students  reside  in  the  schools 
under  military  discipline,  although  day  pupils  are 
taken.  The  men  are  required  to  take  an  elementary 
course  when  necessary,  and  an  intermediate  course 
before  beginning  a  trade.  On  finishing  each  course 
they  are  graduated  with  ceremonies,  and  given  a 
diploma  before  being  promoted  to  the  next.  On 
completing  the  school  work,  they  receive  a  certificate 
stating  their  fitness  to  follow  a  trade  and  support 
themselves,  and  usually  are  given  prizes  from  the 
committee  and  chief  citizens  of  the  town.  It  has  been 
found  that  these  ceremonies  are  a  decided  help  in 
keeping  up  the  men 's  interest  and  pride  in  their  work. 

This  opportunity  for  education,  even  though  com- 
pressed into  the  short  space  of  six  months,  has  proved 
a  great  opportunity  for  the  illiterate  peasants  of 
Italy.  It  means  a  mental  discipline  and  a  founda- 
tion of  learning  that  is  foreign  to  the  small,  remote 
hamlets  from  which  many  of  them  come  and  to  which 
the  feeling  of  national  unity  has  not  really  penetrated. 
Many  of  the  promoters  of  these  schools  feel  that  the 
seeds  of  national  development  and  real  patriotism  are 
being  planted  thereby. 

Much  is  expected  of  private  initiative.  Each  school 
is  under  the  direction  of  a  volunteer  local  committee 
which  works  in  close  touch  with  the  National  Board. 
Its  work  includes  founding  the  school,  arousing  public 
interest  in  it,  attending  to  the  practical  direction  with 
help  in  discipline,  raising  funds  to  aid  in  its  support, 
and  placing  the  men  when  they  leave.  The  National 
Board  supports  the  committees  and  stimulates  their 

154 


ITALY  AND  HER  SPECIAL  PROBLEMS 

organization  in  the  areas  where  none  exists.  The 
National  Board  operates  an  employment  office  to  help 
the  local  committees  in  the  placement  of  graduates  of 
the  reeducation  schools,  and  publishes  employment  in- 
formation in  its  bulletin. 

The  trade  school  of  the  Institute  at  Milan  accom- 
modates 500,  and  the  courses  are  basketry,  leather 
work  and  inlay,  tailoring,  shoemaking,  wood  carving, 
making  of  wooden  shoes,  saddlery,  broom  and  brush 
making,  telegraphy,  and  general  mechanics.  The 
courses  are  adapted  to  the  Italian  civilization,  which 
includes  a  larger  proportion  of  handicraft  trades  than 
that  of  any  of  the  other  countries,  with  notable  special- 
ization work,  such  as  at  Florence,  which  is  celebrated 
for  its  toys,  Venice,  long  famed  for  its  art  in  wrought 
iron  and  stamped  leather,  and  other  points  that  are 
famed  for  particular  handicraft  work  of  one  kind  or 
another. 

Italy  recognizes  her  backwardness  in  agriculture, 
and  in  five  of  the  schools  —  Perugia,  Palermo,  Spezia, 
Turin  and  Padua,  agricultural  courses  have  been  in- 
stituted, with  indications  that,  owing  to  its  im- 
portance, this  education  will  be  given  in  all  of  the 
institutions. 

It  has  been  difficult  to  convince  the  Italian  cripples 
of  the  value  of  reeducation.  At  Bologna  28  per  cent, 
of  the  men  eligible  refused  to  take  it.  "The  con- 
servative peasant  mind,"  declares  an  Italian  report, 
"is  hard  to  appeal  to."  Military  discipline  in  the 
schools  appears  to  be  the  only  workable  plan,  and 
even  under  this  system  12  men  were  expelled  from 
the  Bologna  institution  for  various  causes  in  one 
year.  The  idea  of  the  value  of  reeducation  does  not 

155 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

seem  to  sink  into  the  mentality  of  many  of  them,  but 
it  must  be  considered  that  the  percentage  of  ignor- 
ance and  illiteracy  is  perhaps  higher  in  Italy  than  in 
any  of  the  other  leading  Allied  countries. 

Italy,  although  late  in  entering  the  war,  has  never- 
theless developed  in  a  remarkably  short  space  of  time, 
efficient  facilities  not  only  for  caring  medically  for  her 
disabled,  but  also  for  conserving  them  economically 
and  vocationally.  The  work  is  progressing,  and  the 
war  cripples  of  Italy  have  formed  a  National  As- 
sociation with  headquarters  at  Milan.  The  spirit  of 
brotherhood  is  being  fostered,  and  the  Association 
also  acts  as  intermediary  between  cripples  and  em- 
ployers, maintaining  the  rights  of  its  members  when 
neglected  either  by  the  Government  or  by  the  public. 
An  officer  of  the  Association  declared  at  the  time  of 
its  organization : 

Our  country  will  be  grateful  for  the  defense  we  have 
given  of  her  glory  and  her  spirit,  but  we  shall  be  even  more 
worthy  of  her  if,  united  in  a  firm  organization,  we  regain 
the  strength  and  will  to  be  real  men,  useful  to  ourselves 
and  to  our  families.  The  eyes  of  all  are  turned  toward  us, 
as  of  the  elect,  and  this  high  consideration  should  guide  us 
to  right  conduct  and  straight  living.  The  Association  will 
be  the  kindly  guardian  of  every  member,  but  it  will  not 
hesitate  to  take  stern  but  necessary  measures  against  all  of 
those  who  fail  in  their  civil  duty. 

Salvatore  Barzilai,  former  member  of  the  Italian 
Cabinet,  who  accompanied  King  Victor  Emmanuel  to 
Paris  for  the  preliminary  peace  discussions,  stated  in 
Paris  on  December  21,  1918 : 

Italy  lost  500,000  dead.  To  those  actually  killed  in  battle 
must  be  added  300,000  who  died  of  disease,  particularly 

156 


ITALY  AND  HER  SPECIAL  PROBLEMS 

malaria  contracted  in  Albania,  Macedonia  and  along  the 
Piave.  The  severely  wounded  numbered  300,000,  while 
500,000  of  the  5,000,000  called  to  the  colors  were  taken 
prisoner. 

Minister  of  War  Zupelli  declared  in  the  Italian 
Senate  on  December  14,  1918,  that  15,600  Italian 
officers  had  been  killed,  and  more  than  30,000  wounded 
severely.  He  also  asserted  that  Italy  had  more  men 
under  arms,  proportionate  to  population,  than  any 
other  nation. 

The  problem  of  redemption  was  made  more  serious 
in  Italy  by  the  fact  that  a  large  preportion  of  the 
population  was  illiterate,  which  made  it  necessary  to 
begin  the  work  from  the  bottom  up.  For  Italy  the 
war,  in  spite  of  its  loss  of  life  and  hardship,  has 
proved  in  a  certain  measure  a  blessing.  Many  a 
crippled  Italian  soldier  is  today  better  off  than  he  was 
before  he  received  his  injury.  The  benevolence  of  the 
Government  has  done  much  to  stimulate  education 
among  the  masses,  who  now  see  it  demonstrated  to 
them  that  even  a  one-armed  man  with  training  can 
earn  better  wages  and  is  a  happier  citizen  than  a  whole 
man  or  boy  who  grows  up  in  ignorance.  The  effect 
cannot  fail  to  be  beneficial  to  the  population  as  a 
whole. 


157 


CHAPTER  XHI 

THE  PROBLEM    COMES   TO  AMERICA 

The  United  States  as  a  neutral  —  Slight  interest  in  rehabilita- 
tion work  abroad  —  Its  importance  to  the  belligerents  — 
The  spirit  underlying  their  restoration  schemes  —  Entry 
of  the  United  States  into  the  war  —  An  agency  for  the 
redemption  of  the  disabled  at  hand  —  The  vocational- 
education  movement  in  the  United  States  —  The  Federal 
Vocational  Education  Act  —  The  Federal  Board  for 
Vocational  Eductaion  —  Its  composition  and  functions  — 
Its  early  war  service  —  Its  immediate  availability. 

Before  the  entry  of  the  United  States  into  the  war, 
no  particularly  keen  interest  was  manifested  in  this 
country  in  reports  of  what  the  belligerent  nations 
were  doing  for  their  wounded  and  disabled  men. 
There  were  occasional  newspaper  articles  that  ex- 
ploded shell  fragments,  shell  cases  and  other  metals 
were  salvaged  off  the  battlefields  to  be  remelted  and 
used  again.  Occasionally  also  there  were  reports  of 
the  retraining  of  disabled  men  in  France  and  Belgium. 
One  item  made  about  as  much  impression  as  the  other. 
Possibly,  to  our  practical  mind,  the  salvaging  of  the 
scrap  metal  made  the  deeper  impression,  for  men  at 
that  time  seemed  fairly  inexhaustible,  and  metals  were 
becoming  scarce. 

It  was  quite  otherwise  in  the  belligerent  nations. 
As  the  war  went  on  and  the  awful  drain  on  man 
power  grew  more  acute,  the  work  those  injured  men 
were  doing  rose  rapidly  in  importance.  As  soon  as  it 
became  apparent  that  disabled  men  could  be  trained 
to  do  some  kinds  of  essential  war  work  and  thereby 

158 


THE  PROBLEM  COMES  TO  AMERICA 

release  able-bodied  men  for  active  service  at  the 
front,  the  various  Governments  became  keenly  alive  to 
the  residual  usefulness  of  their  disabled  soldiers. 
Although  not  able  to  operate  the  guns  on  the  battle 
line,  they  could  certainly  make  ammunition  with 
which  to  feed  the  guns.  They  could  help  make  the 
guns,  the  shoes,  the  uniforms,  bayonets,  gas  masks, 
small  arms  —  indeed  there  was  scarcely  a  process  of 
the  whole  vast  lot  of  things  to  be  done  to  supply  the 
armies  for  which  the  injured  could  not  in  some  way 
be  used.  It  only  required  a  sort  of  evolution  of 
placement,  a  sorting  out  of  available  man  power  for 
the  tasks  each  man  was  fitted  to  perform  most  use- 
fully to  his  country. 

On  account  of  their  tremendous  value  as  economic 
reserves  disabled  men  first  won  their  way  into  the  real 
solicitude  of  the  warring  nations,  and  despite  their 
injuries  they  were  transformed  in  the  main  from  a 
liability  into  an  asset.  The  viewpoint  in  regard  to 
the  wounded  soldier  changed  very  rapidly.  Having 
proved  themselves  abundantly  capable  of  doing  valua- 
ble work  after  being  retrained,  the  conclusion  was 
inevitable  that  if  these  men  were  of  value  economically 
in  the  stress  of  war,  doing  specialized  work  and  doing 
it  as  well  as  sound  men  physically,  their  value  would 
be  just  as  great  after  the  war  when  the  whole  system 
of  manufactures  and  commerce  would  be  desperately 
in  need  of  every  man  who  could  contribute  in  some 
particular  way,  creatively,  by  knowledge  of  manual 
process  or  labor,  to  the  resumption  of  the  occupations 
of  peace. 

"With  this  sound  basis  of  value  established,  the  bellig- 
erent nations  began  to  develop  a  new  interest  in  the 

159 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

wounded  and  to  devote  more  attention  to  the  con- 
servation of  their  human  resources.  The  subject  be- 
came one  of  lively  moment,  and  facilities  for  re- 
educating disabled  men  and  making  them  effective 
were  enlarged.  It  was  no  longer  a  matter  of  mere 
humanity  or  charity  or  abstract  right  of  the  man. 
There  was  immediate  value  and  worth  in  the  frag- 
ments of  men  gleaned  from  the  battlefields,  just  as 
the  brass  and  copper  and  steel  and  lead  had  value. 
The  melting  pot  made  the  metals  serviceable  again; 
the  crucible  of  specialized  education  did  the  same 
thing  for  the  human  salvage. 

It  is  by  no  means  intended  to  imply  that  this  great 
system  was  wholly  utilitarian  and  devoid  of  soul 
either  in  its  inception  or  in  its  development.  It  had 
its  origin  in  the  purest  humanity  toward  those  dazed 
and  disabled  Belgians  who  in  their  misery  turned  to 
their  countryman,  the  good  M.  Schollaert,  for  relief. 
But  through  its  practical  merits  it  won  recognition  in 
effective  war  making,  and  it  was  thus  given  an  im- 
petus and  an  immediate  importance  that  it  certainly 
could  never  have  attained  either  as  a  matter  of  human- 
ity or  justice  to  the  disabled,  or  of  national  duty 
towards  those  of  whom  the  nations  had  demanded  the 
initial  sacrifice  of  leaving  their  homes  and  exposing 
themselves  to  injury  and  death. 

Along  with  the  development  of  the  reeducational 
system  for  the  war  disabled  there  grew  a  new  public 
sentiment,  first  given  voice  in  the  Canadian  announce- 
ment that  the  Dominion  proposed  to  "see  its  men  all 
the  way  back. ' '  This  was  at  first,  perhaps,  more  the 
result  of  a  burst  of  generosity  and  an  idea  of  a 
"square  deal"  for  the  individuals  who  had  suffered 

160 


THE  PROBLEM  COMES  TO  AMERICA 

impairment  in  behalf  of  their  country  than  of  any 
compelling  sense  of  moral  duty  on  the  part  of  the 
public  at  large,  but  it  marked  an  advance  from  the 
European  conception  of  the  work. 

Thus  was  rehabilitation  brought  to  these  shores, 
first  in  Canada.  It  was  given  some  attention  in  the 
United  States  by  philanthropists  and  students  of 
vocational  education,  and  some  kindhearted  people 
raised  considerable  funds  to  be  expended  in  helping 
to  reeducate  disabled  French  soldiers,  but  in  the  main 
the  work  did  not  bulk  large  in  interest  alongside  the 
epic  struggle  in  Europe.  Mere  individuals  or  col- 
lections of  individuals,  mere  classes  or  their  welfare, 
were  insignificant  in  comparison  with  the  fate  of 
nations,  of  whole  peoples,  of  freedom,  or  with  the 
menace  to  the  right  of  peoples  to  national  existence 
according  to  their  own  ways. 

The  United  States  entered  the  war  on  April  6,  1917. 
In  the  hurry  and  bustle  incident  to  turning  ' '  a  nation 
of  shopkeepers"  into  a  nation  of  soldiers  and  war 
workers,  it  was  perhaps  inevitable  that  some  problems 
would  be  overlooked.  The  main  thing  was  to  get  the 
Nation  on  a  war  basis,  with  all  haste  directed  toward 
the  immensely  important  and  immediate  essentials. 
When  that  great  object  should  be  in  fair  way  of 
accomplishment,  time  could  be  taken  to  give  attention 
to  other  things  less  immediately  essential. 

The  country  was  most  fortunate  in  having  ready  at 
hand  an  agency  fully  qualified  to  take  up  the  work 
of  retraining  our  injured  men.  The  experimenta- 
tion, the  groping,  the  working  out  of  training  courses 
at  the  expense  of  beginners,  was  not  necessary  in  the 
United  States  as  it  was  in  the  European  countries. 

161 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

Already  specializing  in  this  work  of  vocational  train- 
ing, already  in  touch  with  the  available  agencies  in  the 
country,  with  the  experience  of  the  Europeans  al- 
ready studied  and  assimilated,  the  Federal  Board  for 
Vocational  Education  was  ready  at  hand  to  take  up 
the  work  of  teaching  the  war  disabled  new  occupa- 
tions. 

For  some  years  before  the  war  there  had  been  mani- 
fested in  the  United  States  a  very  lively  interest  in 
vocational  education.  A  national  society  was  devoted 
to  the  promotion  of  the  cause.  Several  of  the  states 
had  inaugurated  the  work  in  some  of  its  phases,  and 
some  municipalities  had  established  vocational  schools. 
Numerous  private  institutions  were  devoted  to  voca- 
tional training,  and  progressive  educators  generally 
had  become  interested  in  the  subject.  Finally  the 
movement  crystallized  in  the  Smith-Hughes  Federal 
Vocational  Education  Act,  approved  on  February  23, 
1917.  This  measure  stands  as  a  monument  to  the 
long  years  of  patient  work  and  propaganda  and  the 
unselfish  devotion  of  those  advocates  of  vocational 
education  who  appreciated  its  great  value  and  im- 
portance to  the  country. 

The  Federal  Vocational  Education  Act  created  a 
large  fund,  starting  with  an  initial  appropriation  of 
$1,700,000  and  increasing  by  annual  increments  to  a 
maximum  of  $7,161,000  in  1925  and  annually  there- 
after, to  be  distributed  among  the  states  accepting  the 
terms  of  the  Act  and  matching  the  Federal  funds 
dollar  for  dollar,  the  money  to  be  expended  under 
Federal  supervision  in  teaching  vocational  or,  as  it 
has  been  aptly  termed,  "  commonsense  "  education. 
Its  very  name  conveys  adequate  conception  of  its 

162 


THE  PROBLEM  COMES  TO  AMERICA 

function  —  the  teaching  of  vocations  or  callings  by 
which  people  may  make  their  living,  or  amplify  their 
earning  power,  or  prepare  themselves  for  greater  use- 
fulness in  their  chosen  lines  of  endeavor. 

To  administer  this  fund  and  to  supervise  the 
progress  of  the  states  in  this  new  and  specialized  form 
of  education,  the  Act  created  the  Federal  Board  for 
Vocational  Education,  composed  ex  officio  of  Secretary 
of  Commerce  (William  L.  Redfield),  the  Secretary  of 
Agriculture  (David  F.  Houston),  the  Secretary  of 
Labor  (William  B.  Wilson),  the  Commissioner  of 
Education  (Philander  P.  Claxton),  and  three  ap- 
pointive members  representing,  respectively,  com- 
merce and  manufactures,  agriculture,  and  labor.  The 
organization  of  the  Board  was  completed  in  July, 
1917,  by  the  appointment  of  James  P.  Munroe,  repre- 
senting commerce  and  manufactures,  Charles  A. 
Greathouse  representing  agriculture,  and  Arthur 
E.  Holder  representing  labor,  and  the  election  as 
director  of  Dr.  Charles  A.  Prosser,  one  of  the  leading 
exponents  of  vocational  education  of  the  country, 
then  director  of  the  great  Dunwoody  Institute 
of  Minneapolis,  Minnesota,  an  institution  with  an 
endowment  of  $5,000,00  for  vocational  and  technical 
training,  the  most  modern  and  perhaps  the  most 
comprehensive  of  similar  institutions  in  the  United 
States.  All  of  the  appointive  members  of  the  Board 
had  been  for  years  prominent  advocates  and  workers 
in  the  cause  of  vocational  education,  and  had  done 
much  towards  inducing  the  Federal  Government  to 
commit  itself  to  the  promotion  of  education  of  this 
sort. 

The  work  of  organizing  the  different  states,  all  of 
163 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

which  accepted  the  provisions  of  the  Vocational  Edu- 
cation Act,  was  proceeding  in  the  early  fall  of  1917 
when  the  Army  and  the  Navy  called  upon  the  Federal 
Board  for  help  in  providing  trained  men  especially 
needed  in  various  technical  lines.  The  first  war  ser- 
vice of  the  Board  in  response  to  this  appeal  was  the 
compilation  by  its  staff  of  experts  of  courses  of  in- 
struction for  emergency  use  in  war  training.  These 
included  courses  for  radio  and  buzzer  operators ;  ship- 
building courses  for  shipyard  workers;  mechanical 
and  technical  training  for  enlisted  men  (Air  Divi- 
sion, U.  S.  Signal  Corps)  ;  training  for  motor-truck 
drivers  and  chauffeurs ;  and  courses  for  machine-shop 
occupations,  blacksmithing,  sheet-metal  working  and 
pipe  fitting,  electricians,  telephone  and  telegraph  re- 
pairmen, linemen  and  cable  splicers,  gas-engine, 
motor-car  and  motorcycle  repairmen,  oxy-acetylene 
welders,  airplane-engine  mechanics,  airplane  wood- 
workers, riggers  and  sheet-metal  workers. 

The  War  Training  Division  of  the  Federal  Board 
reported  that  on  June  15,  1918,  12,000  men  had  al- 
ready been  trained  through  these  courses  and  gradu- 
ated into  various  branches  of  the  service,  6,000  of 
them  in  mechanical  lines,  5,000  in  radio  and  buzzer 
work  for  the  Army  and  Navy  and  merchant  marine, 
and  1,000  in  clerical  occupations  for  the  Quarter- 
master Corps.  This  represents  the  work  of  the 
various  states  under  the  direction  of  the  Federal 
Board  and  using  its  courses. 

The  War  Department  Committee  on  Education  and 
Special  Training  reported  7,066  men  in  training  on 
these  courses  in  April,  1918, 10,685  in  May,  and  26,666 
in  June.  Contracts  in  force  provided  for  the  train- 

164 


THE  PROBLEM  COMES  TO  AMERICA 

ing  of  100,000  men  during  1918  in  special  lines  from 
the  courses  of  the  Federal  Board.  This  was  training 
under  military  control,  found  necessary  to  provide 
for  the  needs  of  the  Army ;  in  addition,  training  was 
given  in  voluntary  classes  under  the  direct  super- 
vision of  the  Federal  Board.  Of  the  latter,  the  re- 
turns for  May,  1918,  showed  5,370  in  radio  classes, 
2,508  in  mechanical  classes,  and  some  hundreds  in 
other  branches.  The  whole'  lot  of  student  soldiers, 
however,  were  using  the  courses  of  the  Federal  Board. 
By  November  11,  1918,  at  the  close  of  hostilities, 
the  Federal  Board  had  promoted  the  training  of  19,- 
694  radio  operators,  not  less  than  5,000  of  whom 
were  inducted  into  the  Signal  Corps  of  the  Army. 
Absolute  figures  cannot  be  given,  but  all  the  evidence 
points  to  an  equal  number  for  the  Navy  and  the 
mercantile  marine.  Moreover,  several  thousand  other 
men  received  training  which  was  utilized  in  corps 
service  in  some  phase  of  radio  operation  or  repair. 
Through  state  departments  for  vocational  education 
the  Federal  Board  prepared  for  service  in  mechanical 
occupations  in  the  Army  14,599  men  trained  in  even- 
ing classes,  and  established  with  the  "War  Department 
a  system  of  identification,  certification,  and  assignment 
to  service  where  their  skill  could  be  utilized.  The  total 
enrollment  in  training  classes  was  34,293,  by  occupa- 
tions as  follows :  radio,  19,694 ;  auto  mechanics,  includ- 
ing gas-engine  repair  men,  4,367;  auto  and  truck 
drivers,  1,353;  machinists,  1,290;  woodworkers,  436; 
electricians,  816 ;  airplane  workers,  462 ;  oxy-acetylene 
welders,  613;  sheet-metal  workers,  209;  blacksmiths, 
310;  mechanical  draftsmen,  573;  and  other  courses, 
4,170,  which  included  photography,  topographical 

165 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

draftsmen,  concrete  workers,  shoemaking,  veterinary 
science,  horseshoeing,  paper  work,  and  army  cooks. 

These  details  are  given  to  demonstrate  the  imme- 
diate availability  of  the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational 
Education  for  the  vocational  rehabilitation  of  the  dis- 
abled soldiers.  It  was  clear  that  if  the  Federal  Board 
was  competent  to  train  men  especially  for  the  stress 
and  strain  of  warfare,  it  was  abundantly  able  and 
qualified  to  prepare  them  for  the  walks  and  works  of 
peace.  This  was  the  conclusion  of  those  who  were 
charged  with  the  provision  for  the  welfare  of  the  war 
disabled.  They  decided  that  this  efficient  agency,  in 
smooth  running  order,  must  be  utilized  in  the  retrain- 
ing of  the  men  who  would  be  compelled  to  enter  new 
lines  of  endeavor  to  gain  a  livelihood.  Other  coun- 
tries had  been  compelled  to  evolve  this  machinery  by 
experimentation  and  experience.  The  United  States, 
fortunately,  had  an  adequate  medium  at  hand,  ready, 
and  deeply  interested  in  the  subject  of  the  injured 
man  and  his  future. 


166 


CHAPTEE  XIV 

THE   DEVELOPMENT   OP   A   NATIONAL   PROGRAMME 

The  beginnings  of  the  movement  —  National  scope  of  the 
problem  —  Investigations  of  the  Federal  Board  for  Voca- 
tional Education  —  President  Wilson  interested  —  Joint 
conference  of  Government  bureaus  and  private  organiza- 
tions —  Its  proposed  legislation  —  The  programme  formu- 
lated by  the  Council  of  National  Defense  —  The  Federal 
Board  for  Vocational  Education  entrusted  with  its  execu- 
tion —  Congress  and  the  Vocational  Eehabilitation  Act  — 
Principles  of  the  restoration  programme. 

As  students  and  exponents  of  vocational  education, 
the  members  of  the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational 
Education  were  keenly  alive  to  the  importance  and 
significance  of  the  movement  in  Europe  for  retraining 
disabled  soldiers.  This  was  nothing  more  or  less  than 
vocational  education  reduced  to  its  simplest,  most 
practical,  and  concentrated  essentials.  When  it  be- 
came evident  that  steps  must  be  taken  to  provide  for 
the  future  disabled  soldiers  of  the  sea  and  land  forces 
of  the  United  States,  the  members  of  the  Federal 
Board  were  among  the  earnest  and  active  advocates 
of  some  system  embodying  the  best  features  of  the 
European  and  the  Canadian  rehabilitation  schemes, 
with  such  improvements  as  study  might  suggest. 
Many  organizations  and  individuals  the  country  over 
were  bestirring  themselves  to  make  some  sort  of 
preparation  for  the  disabled  men  of  the  armies.  Some 
of  the  state  legislatures  had  before  them  measures 
providing  for  the  rehabilitation  of  the  disabled,  and 
an  astonishing  amount  of  interest  in  the  subject  was 

167 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

displayed  in  nearly  every  section.  Nothing  definite 
was  done  by  these  agencies,  however,  for  a  general 
conviction  rapidly  developed  that  the  subject  was  one 
of  National  importance,  to  be  dealt  with  by  the 
National  Government,  the  only  repository  of  power 
adequate  to  do  it  justice. 

It  soon  became  apparent  from  the  magnitude  of 
our  prospective  armies  that  the  problem  was  likely  to 
be  one  of  tremendous  proportions.  There  appeared 
also  a  very  considerable  sentiment  indicating  a  wide- 
spread belief  that  the  work  of  reeducation  and  return 
of  men  to  civil  life  and  occupations  was  not  a  military 
function.  Some  European  countries  had  tried  it  as 
a  work  directed  by  the  military  authorities  and  had 
not  been  particularly  successful,  while  other  countries 
that  had  placed  the  work  under  civilian  control  had 
achieved  better  results.  Although  the  function  of 
the  Medical  Corps  of  the  Army  was  recognized,  and  it 
was  accredited  as  being  paramount  in  the  work  of 
restoring  men  to  health,  giving  medical  and  surgical 
attention  to  the  injured,  and  in  functional  restora- 
tion, the  consensus  of  public  opinion  determined  that 
there  the  functions  of  the  medical  department  ended. 
The  public  mind  could  not  see  that  the  medical  de- 
partment was  preeminently  qualified  to  teach  men  to 
be  gas-engine  mechanics,  oxy-acetylene  welders,  farm- 
tractor  operators,  motor  repairmen,  radio  operators, 
stenographers,  poultry  raisers,  truck  farmers,  office 
men,  architects,  draftsmen,  or  other  of  a  list  of  some 
four  hundred  occupations. 

Public  interest  in  the  problem  grew.  The  Federal 
Board  for  Vocational  Education  adopted  a  resolution 
on  August  15,  1917,  providing  for  a  study  of  the 

168 


A  NATIONAL  PROGRAMME 

work  of  rehabilitation  of  disabled  soldiers  abroad,  and 
investigations  were  immediately  started  by  the  Re- 
search Division  of  the  Board.  Informal  conferences 
were  initiated  by  the  Board  looking  toward  definite 
action  and  the  crystallizing  of  sentiment,  notably  with 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  the  United  States  and 
the  National  Association  of  Manufacturers.  Both 
these  organizations  responded  with  immediate  appre- 
ciation and  helpful  interest  and  activity. 

As  the  studies  of  the  Federal  Board  approached 
completion,  the  imperative  need  for  a  clear  and  settled 
policy  in  regard  to  our  disabled  men  returning  from 
overseas  and  from  training  camps  was  made  manifest. 
It  was  agreed  among  the  members  of  the  Board  and 
those  associated  with  them  that  the  best  way  to  bring 
the  matter  to  a  focus  was  to  lay  the  situation  before 
President  Wilson  and  invoke  his  interest,  and  at  the 
December,  1917,  meeting  of  the  Board  the  Chairman 
(Secretary  of  Agriculture  Houston)  was  requested  to 
present  the  matter  officially  to  the  President  and  re- 
quest him  to  act. 

President  "Wilson  promptly  appreciated  the  value 
of  the  Board's  suggestion  and  of  the  preliminary 
work  that  had  been  done,  and  through  the  Secretary 
of  War  he  called  a  conference  of  all  organizations  in- 
terested in  the  problem.  There  were  represented  at 
the  first  meeting  in  January,  1918,  in  the  office  of  the 
Surgeon-General  in  the  War  Department,  besides  the 
Surgeon-General,  the  Bureau  of  War  Risk  Insurance, 
the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education,  the 
United  States  Public  Health  Service,  the  Council  of 
National  Defense,  the  American  Federation  of  Labor, 
the  National  Association  of  Manufacturers,  and  the 

169 


American  Eed  Cross.  Subsequently,  other  confer- 
ences were  held.  It  was  decided  at  these  meetings  to 
draw  up  a  tentative  measure  for  presentation  to  Con- 
gress embodying  the  views  of  the  conference.  The 
subcommittee  to  whom  the  matter  was  referred 
finally  reported  a  measure,  which  was  adopted 
unanimously  by  the  conference,  providing  that  the 
work  of  vocational  rehabilitation  be  placed  under  an 
advisory  board  of  five  members,  representing,  respec- 
tively, the  Army,  the  Navy,  the  Treasury  Department, 
the  Department  of  Labor,  and  the  Federal  Board  for 
Vocational  Education.  This  tentative  draft  went  the 
length  of  extending  Federal  aid  and  supervision  of 
vocational  rehabilitation  to  the  cripples  of  industry 
as  well  as  to  the  men  incapacitated  in  the  armed  ser- 
vice of  the  Government. 

Meanwhile,  the  Federal  Board  had  issued  (Bul- 
letin No.  5)  in  February  "  Vocational  Rehabilita- 
tion of  Disabled  Soldiers  and  Sailors:  a  Preliminary 
Study,"  a  book  of  112  pages  based  on  the  investiga- 
tions of  the  Research  Division.  Closely  following  it 
came  (Bulletin  No.  6)  "  Training  of  Teachers  for 
Occupational  Therapy  for  the  Rehabilitation  of  Dis- 
abled Soldiers  and  Sailors,"  the  work  of  the  same 
Division  of  the  Board.  The  wealth  of  material  ac- 
quired by  the  Federal  Board  comprised  the  whole 
experience  and  progress  of  the  Allies  and  of  the 
enemy  as  well.  It  confirmed  the  need  for  positive 
action  at  the  earliest  possible  moment  if  the  United 
States  was  to  be  prepared  adequately  to  care  for 
the  Nation's  disabled  fighters.  Congress  meanwhile 
had  begun  to  show  interest  in  the  rehabilitation  pro- 
gramme, but  the  interested  members,  knowing  that 

170 


A  NATIONAL  PROGRAMME 

the  situation  was  being  studied  with  a  view  to  evolving 
a  proposal  for  legislation,  refrained  from  attempting 
to  enact  a  law  on  the  subject  until  they  ascertained 
what  had  become  of  the  recommendations  of  the 
conference. 

So  the  matter  rested,  with  no  adequate  preparation 
for  the  problem  of  vocationally  reeducating  and  re- 
placing the  disabled  men  in  civil  life,  until  early  in 
April,  1918,  almost  a  full  year  after  the  United  States 
entered  the  war.  Then  decisive  action  was  taken  by 
the  Council  of  National  Defense,  composed  of  the  six 
Secretaries  of  War,  the  Navy,  the  Treasury,  Agricul- 
ture, Commerce,  and  Labor,  who  had  become  con- 
cerned and  uneasy  over  the  apparent  suspension  of 
activity.  The  tentative  measure  recommended  by  the 
conference  was  taken  up,  considered  and  approved  by 
the  Council,  with  no  material  change  except  the  re- 
jection of  the  proposed  joint  board  for  the  super- 
vision of  reeducation  work  and  the  substitution  of 
the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education  as  the 
supervising  agency.  The  measure  was  then  brought 
before  the  Cabinet,  which  approved  without  a  dis- 
senting voice  the  recommendations  of  the  Council  of 
National  Defense  relating  to  the  rehabilitation  of  the 
war  disabled.  The  provision  of  the  original  measure 
concerning  the  rehabilitation  of  industrial  cripples 
was  eliminated,  on  the  ground  that  although  the 
Cabinet  heartily  approved  the  Federal  care  of  the 
victims  of  industry,  the  President  and  the  Cabinet 
had  promised  to  bring  no  legislation  before  Congress 
at  that  time  except  such  as  related  to  war  measures, 
and  this  feature  of  the  proposed  bill  could  not  be 
classed  as  a  war  necessity. 

171 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

Meanwhile,  Senator  Hoke  Smith  of  Georgia,  through 
his  general  interest  in  vocational  education  (he  was 
chief  sponsor  for  the  Smith-Hughes  Vocational 
Education  Act),  had  become  deeply  impressed  with 
the  necessity  for  vocational  rehabilitation  of  dis- 
abled soldiers  and  sailors,  and  was  preparing  on  his 
own  initiative  and  account  to  report  a  bill  from  the 
Committee  on  Education  and  Labor  of  the  Senate,  of 
which  Committee  he  was  chairman.  Learning  of  the 
action  of  the  President  and  Cabinet  and  the  endorse- 
ment of  the  Council  of  National  Defense,  he  withheld 
his  own  measure,  but  with  the  understanding  and 
agreement  that  when  the  Administration  measure  was 
ready,  it  should  be  introduced  through  his  Committee. 
This  arrangement  was  carried  out  and  the  bill  was 
introduced  by  Senator  Smith  (Sen.  4284),  and 
simultaneously  in  the  House  by  Eepresentative  Sears 
of  Florida  (H.  E.  11367),  on  April  6,  the  anniversary 
of  the  declaration  of  a  state  of  war  with  Germany. 
Hearings  were  conducted  before  the  Joint  Committee 
on  Education  and  Labor  of  Senate  and  House  on 
April  30  and  May  1  and  2.  The  Smith-Sears  Voca- 
tional Rehabilitation  bill,  carrying  a  preliminary  ap- 
propriation of  $2,000,000  with  which  to  start  the 
work,  passed  the  Senate  unanimously  on  May  25,  the 
House  unanimously  on  June  11,  and  was  signed  by 
the  President  and  became  law  on  June  27,  1918. 
Thus  the  most  comprehensive  programme  of  educa- 
tion and  rehabilitation  of  any  of  the  belligerent 
nations  was  made  a  vital  part  of  the  war  programme 
of  the  United  States. 

The  work  of  vocationally  rehabilitating  the  dis- 
abled in  Europe  had  its  origin  in  compassion  and 

172 


A  NATIONAL  PROGRAMME 

charity.  Its  rapid  development  came  through  the 
necessity  of  using  all  available  man  power  and  the 
recognition  of  the  possibility  of  substituting  retrained 
but  physically  disabled  men  for  those  yet  physically 
able,  but  detained  behind  the  lines  as  workers  in 
essential  war  industries.  Its  present  status  is  due 
primarily  to  the  insistent  demands  of  war  work,  but 
partly  in  addition  to  the  realization  by  European 
Governments  that  there  will  be  a  great  shortage  of 
trained  men  in  all  lines  of  industry  after  the  war. 
That  country  possessing  the  greatest  reserve  of 
skilled  workmen,  even  though  in  some  respects 
physically  disabled,  will  have  a  distinct  advantage  in 
recuperation  over  those  less  favorably  situated. 

With  the  United  States  none  of  the  foregoing  con- 
siderations was  the  moving  cause  of  the  resolution 
to  reeducate  for  civil  life  its  disabled  men,  prevented 
by  reason  of  their  injuries  from  returning  to  their 
former  means  of  gaining  a  livelihood.  Indeed,  these 
considerations  played  small  part  in  the  decision,  and 
then  only  as  incidentals  of  benefit  and  cause  associated 
with  a  course  already  shaping  itself  upon  broader  and 
even  higher  grounds.  That  the  programme  had 
phases  that  might  redound  to  the  general  good  was 
pleasant  to  contemplate,  but  the  seeking  of  a  direct 
national  benefit,  either  as  a  present  or  as  a  post- 
bellum  excuse  or  reason  was  never  considered  as  a 
governing  factor. 

In  brief,  the  position  of  the  United  States,  as  evi- 
denced by  its  legislation  on  the  subject  of  vocational 
rehabilitation  for  disabled  soldiers  and  sailors,  is  that 
the  Nation  owes  them  neither  charity  nor  alms ;  that 
their  sacrifice  and  service  deserve  more  than  a 

173 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

gratuity;  that  the  Nation  is  in  fact  indebted  deeply 
to  them,  and  under  the  highest  moral  obligation  to 
discharge  its  debt  fully  and  generously;  and  that 
complete  restoration  to  pre-war  civil  status  is  a  matter 
of  simple  justice  to  the  men  who  have  been  disabled 
and  handicapped  by  reason  of  their  service  in  defend- 
ing the  commonwealth  against  its  armed  foes. 

The  inadequacies  of  the  obsolete  pension  system 
were  so  obvious  that  it  had  not  a  single  adherent  or 
apologist.  Its  pernicious  effects  upon  the  pensioners 
and  the  public,  and  upon  legislation  and  politics,  were 
so  evident  that  it  was  not  even  a  subject  of  discussion 
except  as  to  the  best  way  of  avoiding  it.  The  pen- 
sion system  was  the  best  the  Nation  could  devise  at 
the  time  it  was  inaugurated,  and  even  until  recently, 
but  it  was  recognized  that  the  march  of  events  had 
carried  the  world  forward  to  new  conceptions  and 
ideals,  and  among  them  that  restoration  and  restitu- 
tion, including  such  compensation  as  might  be  neces- 
sary to  accomplish  these  objects,  and  the  establish- 
ment of  equality  of  opportunity  was  the  course  to  be 
followed  in  dealing  with  the  disabled  of  war. 

Certainly,  it  was  not  possible  actually  to  restore  an 
amputated  arm  or  leg,  but  there  were  equivalents,  or 
at  least  as  near  equivalents  as  human  ingenuity  could 
devise.  The  crippled  man  should  be  given  an  arti- 
ficial member  capable  of  performing  many  of  the 
functions  of  the  lost  limb.  He  should  be  paid  a  sum 
of  money  based  upon  years  of  experience  of  accident- 
insurance  companies  and  other  data  on  the  impair- 
ment of  earning  capacity  by  his  particular  injury. 
And  finally,  if  he  were  injured  sufficiently  to  prevent 
him  from  returning  to  his  former  vocation  in  the 

174 


&  B 

2  5 


w  2 

* 


o  2 


A  NATIONAL  PROGRAMME 

civil  life  from  which  the  Nation  called  him  to  take 
up  arms,  he  should  be  reeducated  for  some  other  call- 
ing offering  equal,  if  not  better,  chances  of  remunera- 
tive employment  or  return,  and  a  place  found  for 
him  in  that  new  employment. 

It  was  accepted  as  fundamental  also  that  if  the 
man  were  so  injured  as  to  require  vocational  re- 
education, the  loss  of  time  in  pursuing  the  studies 
necessary  to  fit  him  for  his  new  calling  should  also 
be  a  charge  upon  the  Government.  Not  only  should 
the  man  be  paid  at  the  rate  he  was  drawing  when 
wounded,  or  better,  but  all  allotments  and  allowances 
for  the  support  of  his  family  or  dependents  should 
be  continued  during  the  training  period  just  as  if  he 
were  still  on  duty  at  the  front ;  for  it  was  recognized 
that  no  man  can  do  good  mental  work  if  harassed 
and  worried  by  lack  of  sufficient  money  to  maintain  his 
family  in  at  least  the  necessaries  of  life. 

Finally,  the  consensus  of  opinion  was  that  the  whole 
process  should  be  a  voluntary  one  on  the  part  of  the 
man  to  be  reeducated,  and  that  it  should  be,  in  all  its 
essentials,  a  civil  operation.  Military  authority 
should  play  no  part  in  it.  The  transition  from  mili- 
tary back  to  civil  life  was  to  be  made  with  the  as- 
sistance of  civilians,  in  a  civilian  atmosphere. 

The  programme  contemplated  justice,  not  alms,  for 
the  disabled,  in  so  far  as  justice  could  be  done  and 
restitution  made  for  suffering  and  loss  of  earning 
ability.  This  was  the  sole  principle  guiding  the  de- 
liberations and  avowed  purpose  of  those  who  were 
working  for  the  proper  recognition  and  treatment  of 
the  men  who  had  dared  so  much  and  suffered  so 
greatly.  This  clear  conception  prevailed  from  the 

175 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

first,  and  it  was  accepted  at  face  value  by  Congress. 
The  resources  of  the  country  in  man  power  were  too 
vast  to  necessitate  the  reeducation  of  these  disabled 
men  as  a  military  necessity,  and  certainly  no  one 
was  thinking  of  the  post-bellum  effect  upon  trade  and 
industry.  Nevertheless,  every  facility  possible  to  de- 
vise was  prepared  for  offering  to  the  disabled  man, 
in  order  that,  despite  his  injuries,  he  might  become 
independent  as  a  wage  earner  and  supplement  by  his 
own  efforts  the  amount  received  as  disability  com- 
pensation, thus  being  enabled  to  live  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  comforts  and  with  equal  opportunity  to 
pursue  his  course  toward  happiness  along  with  other 
men. 


176 


CHAPTER  XV 

FINANCIAL  PROVISION  FOB  THE  DISABLED  SOLDIER 

•> 

The  War  Risk  Insurance  Act  —  Evils  of  the  pension  system 
avoided  —  The  Government 's  liability  as  employer  in  the 
dangerous  trade  of  war  —  Allotments  and  allowances  to 
dependents  of  enlisted  men  —  Compensation  for  death  or 
disability  —  The  democratic  principle  of  the  flat -rate  scale 
of  disability  compensation  —  The  danger  of  special  legisla- 
tion—  Bearing  of  flat-rate  compensation  upon  the  voca- 
tional rehabilitation  programme  —  Bates  of  compensation 
for  death  and  total  disability  —  Problem  of  rating  par- 
tial disabilities  —  Voluntary  life  and  total-disability 
insurance. 

> 

Insurance  against  death  and  total  disability  con- 
stitutes a  special  feature  of  great  social  importance  in 
the  American  programme  of  restoration,  distinguish- 
ing it  from  the  programmes  adopted  by  our  allies. 
The  provisions  of  the  War  Risk  Insurance  Act  of 
October  6,  1917,  however,  are  not  restricted  to  insur- 
ance. On  the  contrary,  the  Act  embraces  other  ex- 
ceedingly important  provisions  —  for  allotments  and 
allowances  for  the  soldier's  family  while  its  head  is 
in  military  service,  compensation  in  case  of  death  or 
disability,  and  a  somewhat  vaguely  defined  promise  of 
vocational  reeducation  for  the  man  incapable  of  tak- 
ing up  his  former  occupation  or  who  requires  special 
retraining  for  it  under  the  conditions  of  his  handicap. 
All  of  these  provisions,  except  those  relating  to  voca- 
tional training,  will  be  considered  as  constituting  in 
the  aggregate,  together  with  the  provision  for  re- 
education made  specifically  in  the  Vocational  Kehabili- 

-i  '— ^ 

it  t 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

tation  Act1,  the  Government's  scheme  of  providing 
for  the  present  needs  of  dependents  of  men  in  ser- 
vice, for  the  particular  future  needs  of  men  disabled 
and  of  their  dependents,  and  for  the  needs  of  the 
dependents  of  men  who  lose  their  lives  in  the  Nation 's 
service." 

The  Act  of  October  6,  1917,  amends  the  Act  of 
September  2,  1914,  establishing  the  Bureau  of  "War 
Bisk  Insurance  in  the  Treasury  Department,  and 
creates  in  that  Bureau  two  divisions,  a  Division  of 
Marine  and  Seamen's  Insurance  to  carry  on  the  work 
for  which  the  Bureau  was  originally  created,  and  a 
Division  of  Military  and  Naval  Insurance  to  assume 
the  new  functions  imposed  by  the  amendatory  Act 
of  October  6,  1917.  It  is  with  the  functions  of  this 
second  division  that  the  following  summary  account 
deals.2 

For  half  a  century  the  lengthening  chain  of  Civil 
"War  disability  and  service  pensions,  dragging  on  in- 
terminably, has  fastened  upon  the  country  a  burden 
of  dependency  merging  more  and  more  with  each 
generation  into  pauperism  and  ever  lending  itself 
to  widespread  corruption  and  abuse  of  the  Nation's 
gratitude  towards  its  veteran  warriors  of  the  sixties. 
This  burden,  dragged  on  from  year  to  year,  increas- 
ing in  the  face  of  natural  mortality  by  the  addition  in 
a  new  generation  of  thousands  of  young  widows  who 
have  married  into  the  army  of  pensioners,  has  been 
ungrudgingly  assumed  and  carried  by  the  community 

1  For  the  detailed  provisions  of  this  Act,  see  Chapter  XVI. 

2  For  a  detailed  discussion  of  the  Government 's  scheme  of 
allotments  and  allowances  and  death  and  disability  compensa- 
tion and  insurance,  see,  in  this  series,  Samuel  McCune  Lindsay, 
Government  Insurance  in  War  Time  and  After. 

178 


FINANCIAL  PROVISION 

—  ungrudgingly,  because  the  Nation  has  determined 
to  guard  the  welfare  of  the  veteran  and  of  his  de- 
pendents without  any  too  nice  discrimination  of  merit 
or  desert  among  those  dependents. 

But  the  abuses  of  the  system  have  become  each  year 
more  patent  and  more  numerous,  and  even  more 
brazen  and  uncompromising.  Each  year  a  host  of 
veterans  has  fallen  out  of  the  ranks  of  the  army  of 
pensioners,  but  the  army  has  nevertheless  marched 
on,  recruiting  its  swelling  numbers  more  and  more 
from  the  undeserving,  until  its  character  as  a  veteran 
army  has  fallen  away,  and  it  has  become  in  larger 
proportion  an  army  of  valiant  pensioners.  The  war 
service  is  mainly  a  flimsy,  unsubstantial  fiction,  and 
the  service  of  many  of  the  present  pensioners  is  that 
of  bearing  with  some  childish  old  man  until  he  passed 
over  the  river  and  the  pension  can  be  enjoyed  with 
no  service  in  return. 

Not  the  least  damning  characteristic  of  the  pension 
has  been  its  capacity  for  impairing  the  sterling  man- 
hood qualities,  even  among  the  veterans  themselves. 
The  worthy  pensioner,  moreover,  has  been  subjected 
to  the  odium  of  association  with  the  unworthy, 
profiteering  sort,  with  the  unnatural,  degenerate 
veteran  who  has  finally  yielded  to  the  seductions  of 
pensioned  indigence,  and  with  the  unscrupulous 
woman  who,  with  clearly  ulterior  motives,  married 
shamelessly  into  the  ranks  a  generation  after  the  war. 

Could  any  such  discreditable  record  be  avoided 
after  the  Great  War,  in  which  it  seemed  entirely  prob- 
able that  the  millions  enlisted  for  service  would  far 
exceed  the  Civil  War  enrollment  and,  in  consequence, 
the  number  of  pensioners,  worthy  and  unworthy, 

179 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

would  be  tremendously  multiplied?  Or  must  the 
community  enter  upon  another  protracted  period  of 
service-  and  disability-pension  legislation,  gathering 
into  the  toils  of  dependency  from  year  to  year  a  larger 
and  larger  proportion  of  the  country's  manhood  and 
womanhood  ? 

It  is  believed  that  a  way  of  avoiding  any  such  social 
calamity  has  in  fact  been  provided  in  the  War  Risk 
Insurance  Act  of  October,  1917.  The  provisions  of 
this  Act  may  be  briefly  summarized  as  they  bear 
directly  upon  the  end  and  purpose  of  restoration  of 
the  discharged  man  to  his  pre-war  status  of  economic 
and  social  independence  —  a  status  absolutely  incom- 
patible with  the  persistence  of  pensioning  or  pauper- 
ization. It  is  not  the  intention  here  to  undertake  any 
detailed  exposition  of  the  Act  as  regards  its  precise 
terms,  but  merely  to  set  forth  its  general  character 
and  the  principles  in  accordance  with  which  its  pro- 
visions have  been  drawn. 

In  a  word,  as  it  has  been  aptly  put,  the  Act  con- 
cedes war  to  be  a  "dangerous  trade"  and  the  Gov- 
ernment to  be  the  "employer"  of  those  engaged  in 
it,  and  it  proceeds  to  determine  the  employer 's  liabil- 
ities and  obligations  under  this  conception.  These 
liabilities  and  obligations  embrace  (1)  allowances  to 
families  of  men  in  the  service,  (2)  compensation  to 
men  in  case  of  disability  and  to  their  families  in  case 
of  death,  and  (3)  insurance,  which  may  be  voluntarily 
assumed  against  disability  or  death. 

As  regards  allowances  to  the  dependents  of  en- 
listed men  during  service,  it  is  provided  that  the 
enlisted  man  shall  allot  a  portion  of  his  monthly  pay, 
a  minimum  of  $15,  before  any  allowance  by  the  Gov- 

180 


FINANCIAL  PROVISION 

eminent  is  granted.  Up  to  not  exceeding  one-half 
of  his  pay,  the  soldier  by  allotment  must  "match" 
the  Government  allowance  dollar  for  dollar,  but  he 
is  not  required  to  match  allowances  in  excess  of  this 
amount.  The  maximum  Government  allowance  on 
account  of  the  dependents  of  any  enlisted  man  is  $50 
per  month.  When  this  maximum  does  not  provide 
for  all  dependents  the  allowance  to  which  they  would 
otherwise  be  entitled  under  the  graduated  scale  estab- 
lished by  the  Act  —  that  is,  to  a  wife  with  no  children, 
$15 ;  with  one  child,  $25 ;  with  two  children,  $32 ;  and 
for  each  additional  child,  $5;  or,  if  there  is  no  wife, 
to  one  child,  $5;  to  two  children,  $12.50;  to  three 
children,  $20 ;  to  four  children,  $30 ;  and  to  each  ad- 
ditional child,  $5;  to  each  parent,  $10;  and  to  each 
dependent  grandchild,  brother,  sister  or  additional 
parent,  $5  —  grants  are  made  by  precedence,  to  Class 
A  dependents  (present  wives  or  children  or  divorced 
wives)  or  Class  B  dependents  (parents,  grandchildren, 
brothers  and  sisters).  "Wives"  includes  divorced 
wives  in  receipt  of  alimony  and  common-law  wives, 
and  "children"  includes  illegitimate,  adopted  and 
stepchildren  to  the  age  of  18  years,  with  certain  safe- 
guarding provisos. 

Men  with  wives  or  children  dependent  upon  them 
are  compelled  to  make  allotments,  but  no  compulsion 
obtains  with  reference  to  Class  B  dependents.  Some 
allotment,  a  minimum  of  $5,  must  be  made  to  Class  B 
dependents,  however,  before  any  allowance  is  granted 
to  them  by  the  Government.  Allowances  are  not 
paid  except  on  application  of  either  the  soldier  or  of 
the  beneficiary.  As  will  be  noted  elsewhere  (Chapter 
XVI),  allotments  and  allowances  will  be  virtually 

181 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

continued,  under  the  Vocational  Behabilitation  Act, 
after  release  from  military  service  in  the  case  of  men 
who  elect  to  take  vocational  training  during  the 
period  of  such  training. 

When  allotments  and  allowances  proved  insufficient 
to  provide  for  the  dependents  of  enlisted  men,  it  was 
expected  that  additional  provision  would  be  made 
either  by  the  several  states  or  by  such  agencies  as  the 
Civilian  Belief  Section  of  the  Bed  Cross.  Even  be- 
fore the  passage  of  the  Federal  Act,  seven  states 
(Maine,  Vermont,  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts, 
Connecticut,  Michigan  and  "Wisconsin)  had  provided 
allowances  for  dependents  of  men  in  military  service. 
Such  provision  it  was  fairly  anticipated  would  be 
made  generally,  and  individual  cases  of  hardship 
would  be  taken  care  of  by  private  agencies.  It  was 
possible  also  Congress  itself  might  at  any  time  in- 
crease the  scale  of  allowances  as  established  in  the 
present  Act. 

It  was  assumed  that  officers,  out  of  their  more  ample 
pay,  would  be  disposed  to  provide  adequately  for 
their  families.  The  compulsory  provisions  of  the 
Act  relating  to  allotments  and  allowances,  therefore, 
were  not  extended  to  officers. 

Compensation  in  case  of  disability  or  death  is  pro- 
vided for  officers  as  well  as  enlisted  men  under  a 
flat-rate  scale,  which  determines  compensation  inde- 
pendently of  military  rank  or  pay.  In  the  bill  as 
originally  proposed,  compensation  varied  with  pay, 
officers  receiving  in  the  case  of  any  given  disability 
and  number  of  dependents  a  larger  compensation  than 
enlisted  men.  The  compensation  was  stated  in  terms 
of  percentages  of  pay,  with  specified  minima,  for 

182 


FINANCIAL  PROVISION 

example,  to  a  surviving  widow  without  children,  25 
per  cent,  of  pay,  but  not  less  than  $30  per  month. 

This  principle  was  opposed  as  being  undemocratic, 
and  it  was  clearly  a  violation  of  the  principle  accepted 
in  the  draft,  which  required  civilians  to  abandon  their 
civilian  pursuits  and  enter  military  service  as  privates 
under  a  uniform  wage  scale  which  ignores  all  differ- 
ences of  individual  capacity  and  earning  power. 
The  $30  a  month  private  may  have  been  drafted  out 
of  a  civilian  employment  in  which  he  was  earning 
much  more,  or  possibly,  in  the  case  of  apprentices  or 
learners  of  trades,  somewhat  less  than  $30  a  month. 
His  military  pay  will  not  measure  relatively  to  other 
men  in  service  his  sacrifice  in  responding  to  the 
draft,  nor  in  case  of  death  or  disability  will  it  measure 
his  loss  of  original  earning  power.  In  the  judgment 
of  Congress,  and  it  must  be  conceded  that  this  judg- 
ment seems  fairly  in  accord  with  the  fundamental 
principles  of  democracy,  the  claim  of  the  officer  for 
higher  compensation  than  is  given  to  enlisted  men  for 
the  same  disability  and  dependency  is  not  clear. 

It  cannot  be  easily  demonstrated  that  the  need  for 
money  compensation,  which,  in  the  nature  of  the 
case,  must  be  generally  inadequate  to  cover  the 
sacrifice,  will  be  less  when  the  man 's  natural  resources 
or  capacities  are  small  and  when  his  military  or 
social  rank  is  low,  and  it  would  seem  certainly  foolish 
to  assume  that  the  needs  of  the  disabled  man  and  of 
his  family  will  vary  directly  in  proportion  with  his 
military  pay  under  conditions  of  the  draft,  which  has, 
in  fact,  instituted  equality  of  status  for  the  millions 
of  privates,  in  complete  disregard  of  their  various 
civil  capacities  prior  to  enrollment.  Any  argument 

183 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

that  can  be  formulated  for  adjusting  compensation 
to  pre-war  earning  capacity  will  apply  equally  to  mili- 
tary pay  itself.  If  the  compensation  of  men  dis- 
abled should  be  proportional  to  their  pre-war  earning 
capacity,  so  also,  under  the  same  conception  of  justice, 
should  pay  for  the  military  service  of  men  drafted 
into  the  Army  or  Navy.  No  such  proposal  has  been 
entertained,  but  the  logical  conclusion  of  flat-rate 
compensation  for  service  is  certainly  flat-rate  com- 
pensation for  disability. 

Similiarly,  it  may  be  fairly  contended,  as  it  has 
been  contended  in  France,  that  the  sacrifice  involved 
in  any  disability,  for  example,  the  loss  of  a  hand  or  a 
leg  or  an  eye,  is  in  fact  absolute,  and  not  in  any  real 
sense  relative  to  earning  capacity  prior  to  enlistment. 
The  man,  officer  or  private,  skilled  or  unskilled,  of 
large  or  small  earning  capacity,  who  has  been  killed 
in  the  service  or  has  had  a  right  hand  shot  away  has 
rendered  a  definite  sacrifice  which  is  not  greater  in 
the  case  of  a  man  capable  of  earning  $5,000  a  year 
than  it  is  in  the  case  of  the  humblest  common  laborer. 
This  principle  has  not  been  accepted  in  Great  Britain, 
but  seems  to  have  obtained  generally  on  the  Con- 
tinent, and  Congress  has  admitted  it  tentatively  in 
drawing  the  War  Risk  Insurance  Act. 

Perhaps  a  more  effective  statement  of  the  case  for 
a  flat-rate  scale  may  be  made  in  negative  terms. 
Within  the  maximum  limits  of  compensation  granted 
by  the  Government  under  the  most  liberal  provisions 
contemplated,  the  compensation  will  not  in  fact  ex- 
ceed the  sacrifice  involved  in  the  case  either  of  death 
or  of  disability.  The  officer  or  the  man  of  large  ca- 
pacity, accustomed  to  a  higher  standard  of  living,  may 

184 


FINANCIAL  PROVISION 

deserve  more ;  but  certainly  the  private,  whatever  his 
former  earning  capacity,  does  not  deserve  less. 

Some  fear  has  been  expressed  that  in  the  flat-rate 
scale  provision,  the  door  is  left  open  for  entrance  upon 
a  new  policy  of  special  pension  legislation  to  cover 
individual  cases  of  special  handicap.  It  is  at  least 
doubtful  if  this  danger  could  be  entirely  avoided  by 
adopting  a  scale  prescribing  compensation  in  terms 
of  percentage  of  military  pay  or  even  in  terms  of 
percentage  of  pre-war  earnings,  unless  all  maximum 
limits  were  narrow  or  only  high  maxima  were  intro- 
duced. Under  the  present  law  it  may  fairly  be 
anticipated  that  only  exceptional  cases  of  very  special 
merit  and  of  obvious  hardship  will  receive  considera- 
tion in  Congress  at  any  time  in  the  future,  since  one 
fundamental  motive  of  our  present  programme  is  the 
establishment  of  a  system  of  compensation  that  will 
make  special  disability-  and  service-pension  legislation 
unnecessary  and  unjustifiable.  Rare  instances  of  in- 
dividual merit  may  receive  special  consideration  by 
Congress,  but  this  consideration  may  be  given  without 
again  entering  upon  a  policy  of  wholesale  pensioning, 
such  as  has  discredited  our  procedure  in  the  past. 

Under  the  Act,  therefore,  compensation  is  deter- 
mined irrespective  of  military  pay  or  rank  or  pre-war 
social  status,  and  with  reference  solely  to  a  flat-rate 
scale  of  disabilities.  Death,  whether  of  private  or 
officer,  whether  of  a  poor  or  a  rich  man,  carries  its 
own  unvarying  compensation,  and  similarly  but  one 
rate  is  provided  for  the  loss  of  a  hand  or  foot  or 
any  other  disability.  This  principle  of  compensation 
has  a  direct  bearing  on  the  general  policy  of  com- 
plete vocational  restoration  of  the  disabled  so  far  as 

185 


EEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

it  can  be  achieved.  Under  the  Act,  disability  is 
physical  and  absolute,  determined  when  active  medi- 
cal and  surgical  treatment  of  the  man  has  reached 
finality.  Obviously,  a  very  slight  physical  disability, 
for  example,  the  loss  of  a  finger  or  a  stiffening  of  the 
wrist  joint  in  the  case  of  a  violinist  or  a  pianist,  may 
constitute  total  vocational  disability  for  the  man's 
former  occupation,  and  vice  versa  a  very  serious 
physical  disability  involving  a  major  operation  may 
not  impair  at  all  seriously  a  man's  vocational  capacity 
in  his  former  occupation.  Obviously  too,  any  given 
degree  of  physical  disability,  over  the  whole  range 
from  total  disability  to  very  slight  impairments,  may 
involve,  and  in  individual  cases  certainly  will  in- 
volve, a  varying  degree  of  impairment  of  vocational 
earning  capacity  in  the  former  occupation  or  in  any 
new  occupation  for  which  training  may  be  given. 

These  varying  impairments  of  actual  or  potential 
earning  capacity  do  not  figure  in  the  determination 
of  the  man's  compensation.  For  the  loss  of  a  finger 
he  will  receive  compensation  fixed  by  a  scale  of  dis- 
ability in  which  the  loss  of  a  finger,  whether  it  be  the 
finger  of  a  violinist  or  a  farm  laborer  or  a  banker,  is 
assessed  as  a  fixed  proportion  of  total  disability.  Once 
the  disability  is  determined  as  a  permanent  physical 
condition,  the  compensation  does  not  dimmish  or  vary 
according  to  future  development  or  variation  of  earn- 
ing power,  and  it  is  determined  in  the  first  instance 
without  reference  to  that  power  in  individual  cases. 

Every  inducement  is  thus  presented  to  the  man 
under  disability  to  become  effective  either  in  his  own 
or  in  some  other  occupation.  He  may  enter  upon  a 
course  of  vocational  training  in  the  full  assurance  that 

186 


FINANCIAL  PROVISION 

his  compensation  will  not  be  fixed  with  reference  to 
his  earning  capacity  or  be  reduced  as  he  achieves  new 
earning  capacity.  Any  policy  of  reducing  compen- 
sation in  more  or  less  direct  proportion  to  the  man's 
reacquirement  of  efficiency  would  be  disheartening, 
and  would  fatally  compromise  the  whole  programme 
of  vocational  rehabilitation.  Unquestionably,  in  many 
instances  compensation  plus  earnings  will  exceed  pre- 
war earnings,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  such  instances 
will  constitute  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  reeduca- 
tion cases.  The  experience  of  the  Canadian  reeducated 
appears  to  afford  strong  ground  for  this  hope. 

The  Act  provides  a  scale  of  compensation  in  cases 
of  death  and  of  total  disability  graduated  according 
to  the  number  and  character  of  dependents.  In  the 
case  of  death,  the  monthly  compensation  is:  for  a 
widow  alone,  $25;  widow  with  one  child,  $35;  with 
two  children,  $47.50;  and  for  each  additional  child, 
$5 ;  where  no  widow  survives,  for  one  child,  $20 ;  two 
children,  $30;  three  children,  $40;  and  for  each 
additional  child  not  exceeding  two,  $5;  and  for  a 
widowed  mother,  $20.  In  the  case  of  total  disability 
the  scale  runs  as  follows:  for  a  man  alone,  $30;  for 
a  man  with  wife  and  no  child,  $45;  with  one  child, 
$55;  with  two  children,  $65;  with  three  or  more 
children,  $75 ;  for  a  man  with  no  wife  but  one  child, 
$40 ;  for  each  additional  child  not  exceeding  two,  $10 ; 
and  for  a  widowed  mother,  $10. 

The  Act  provides  that  partial  disability  shall  be 
compensated  as  a  percentage  of  total  disability,  the 
ratings  being  based,  not  upon  individual  impairments 
of  earning  capacity,  but  upon  "the  average  impair- 
ments of  earning  capacity  resulting  from  such  injuries 

187 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

in  civil  occupations  ...  so  that  there  shall  be 
no  reduction  in  the  rate  of  compensation  for  individ- 
ual success  in  overcoming  the  handicap  of  a  permanent 
injury." 

The  difficulties  in  determining  such  averages  are 
obvious.  Impairment  of  earning  capapity  in  conse- 
quence of  any  given  injury  will  have  a  wide  range  of 
variation  from  occupation  to  occupation.  The  loss  of 
a  right-hand  thumb,  for  example,  may  totally  inca- 
pacitate a  man  for  the  trade  of  barber,  but  not  at  all 
seriously  impairs  the  efficiency  of  a  man  in  many 
other  occupations,  skilled  or  unskilled,  or  in  the  pro- 
fessions. These  actual  impairments,  in  fact,  cannot 
be  averaged  with  any  high  degree  of  certainty  that 
the  resulting  average  will  fit  individual  cases,  but  the 
intention  of  the  Act  is  clearly  that  for  each  class  of 
injuries,  some  estimate  shall  be  made  of  the  resulting 
impairment  of  a  man 's  general  earning  capacity,  hav- 
ing regard  not  to  a  man's  particular  occupation  but 
to  the  whole  range  of  civil  employments. 

The  problem  referred  by  Congress  to  the  Bureau 
of  War  Risk  Insurance,  therefore,  is  to  devise  a  classi- 
fication of  injuries  and  to  assess  each  type  of  injury 
for  compensation  as  representing  in  the  impairment 
of  earning  capacity  a  given  percentage  of  total  dis- 
ability. Each  possible  injury  or  combination  of  inju- 
ries will  present  its  own  specific  problem,  and  the 
solution  of  the  problem  is  required  to  be  equally 
specific,  for  example,  that  loss  of  the  right  arm  in- 
volves in  every  instance  a  given  percentage  of  total 
disability,  loss  of  an  arm  and  a  leg  another  percent- 
age, loss  of  two  legs  another,  and  so  on  through  the 
whole  range  of  injuries  and  combinations  of  injuries. 

188 


FINANCIAL  PROVISION 

Probably  in  no  case  would  an  injured  man  be  able 
himself,  or  would  anyone  be  able  for  him,  to  assess 
accurately  the  monetary  equivalent  of  his  disablement. 
Certainly,  few  men  could  answer  offhand  such  a  ques- 
tion as:  "What  amount  of  money,  if  any  amount, 
would  induce  you  to  part  with  your  right  hand,  or 
arm,  or  finger,  or  foot,  or  leg  ? ' '  Having  lost  one  or 
several  of  these  members,  the  disabled  man  would 
generally  be  equally  incapable  of  assessing,  either 
alone  or  with  the  help  of  other  persons,  his  impair- 
ment of  earning  capacity  with  reference  to  the  future. 
In  many  cases  the  future  would  be  clouded  with 
uncertainty.  The  old  employment  might  or  might 
not  be  available,  and  the  election  of  an  employment, 
whether  the  old  one  was  or  was  not  available,  might 
be  determined  accidentally. 

Congress  has  wisely  delegated  the  perplexing  task 
of  assessing  injuries  as  percentages  of  total  disability 
to  the  discretion  of  those  administering  the  Act. 
While  the  terms  of  the  Act  specify  average  impair- 
ment of  earning  capacity,  it  is  fairly  clear  that  other 
considerations  must  be  more  or  less  in  mind  in  devis- 
ing any  scale  of  disability  compensation.  The  loss  of 
a  leg  will  not,  and  indeed  cannot,  be  assessed  solely 
as  an  average  impairment  of  earning  capacity.  For- 
mally  it  will  be  so  assessed,  but  really  it  will  be 
assessed,  as  it  should  be,  with  reference  to  the  whole 
range  of  activities,  economic  and  social,  at  home  and 
in  the  workshop,  personal  and  public,  in  which  the 
normal  man  may  or  must  participate.  The  injury 
will  be  assessed  as  a  handicap  for  normal  life,  rather 
than  as  simply  a  handicap  for  earning  wages. 

Finally,  insurance  is  provided  under  the  Act  for 
189 


EEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

those  in  military  service  who  may  voluntarily  assume 
it,  and  in  some  respects  this  provision  is  the  one  which 
may  be  expected  to  have  most  far-reaching  conse- 
quences. Any  man  in  the  service  may  take  out,  with- 
out medical  examination,  insurance  of  from  $1,000  to 
$10,000  against  death  or  total  disability,  naming  only 
near  relatives  (parents,  grandparents,  children,  grand- 
children, wife,  brothers  or  sisters)  as  beneficiaries. 
Since  the  United  States  Government  bears  all  admin- 
istrative expenses  and  assumes  all  of  the  extra  hazard 
which  active  military  service  imposes,  the  cost  of  this 
insurance  to  the  soldier  or  sailor  is  less  than  the  cost 
of  similar  insurance  under  normal  peace  conditions. 
For  the  duration  of  the  war  the  insurance  is  "term" 
insurance,  on  the  basis  of  annual  periods,  and  the 
policies  acquire  no  surrender  value.  Within  five  years 
after  the  end  of  the  war,  however,  they  may  be  con- 
verted, without  examination,  into  whole-life,  payment- 
life,  endowment,  or  other  forms  of  insurance. 

Each  policy  for  $1,000  will  provide  in  case  of  death 
or  total  disability  240  monthly  payments  of  $5.75  to 
the  beneficiaries.  A  $5,000  policy  will  thus  provide 
monthly  instalments  of  $28.75,  and  a  $10,000  policy, 
monthly  instalments  of  $57.50.  The  cost  of  the  insur- 
ance is  deducted  from  the  soldiers'  monthly  pay.  It 
ranges  from  63  cents  per  month  per  $1,000  for  men 
from  15  to  17  years  of  age  to  $1.08  for  men  49  years 
of  age.  For  men  of  the  first  draft  ages,  21  to  30 
years,  the  cost  ranges  from  65  to  69  cents  per  $1,000. 

Although  acceptance  of  this  insurance  is  voluntary, 
a  very  large  proportion  of  the  men  in  camps  have 
assumed  it.  To  quote  Paul  H.  Douglas  at  the  end 
of  the  first  year  of  war : 

190 


FINANCIAL  PROVISION 

The  insurance  on  the  books  of  the  Bureau  on  April  6  was 
nearly  four  times  as  great  as  that  of  the  largest  commercial 
life-insurance  company  in  the  world,  and  more  than  one- 
half  of  the  total  amount  of  life  insurance  carried  by  private 
companies  in  the  United  States  .  .  .  This  includes 
neither  the  marine  insurance  carried  by  the  Bureau,  nor  the 
insurance  of  men  in  the  trans- Atlantic  merchant  marine. 

The  story  of  the  inauguration  of  the  work  of  insur- 
ing our  soldiers  and  its  development  is  an  amazing 
record.  To  Lieutenant  Coke  Flanagan  of  the  Army 
belongs  the  distinction  of  filing  the  first  application, 
which  was  for  $10,000,  the  full  amount.  The  first 
insurance  certificates  were  delivered  personally  by 
Secretary  McAdoo,  the  recipient  being  Sergeant  Larry 
E.  Meadow  of  the  Army  and  First  Class  Yeoman 
M.  J.  Crum  of  the  Navy,  both  being  for  the  maximum 
$10,000.  By  cable  General  John  J.  Pershing  applied 
for  the  maximum  amount  for  himself.  No  man  was 
disqualified  by  physical  condition.  The  fact  that  he 
was  in  the  Army  or  Navy  was  all  that  was  necessary. 

The  War  Risk  Insurance  Act  became  law  on  October 
6,  1918.  "Within  the  first  month  after  its  passage, 
applications  representing  $311,498,500  had  been  re- 
ceived. By  December  15,  1917,  the  applications  num- 
bered 246,104,  and  the  amount  of  insurance  was 
$2,133,383,500.  By  January  18, 1918,  more  than  470,- 
000  men  were  insured  for  more  than  $4,000,000,000. 
By  January  28  more  than  550,000  men  were  insured, 
and  on  that  day  32,004  applications  were  received, 
aggregating  more  than  $260,000,000,  and  bringing  the 
total  close  to  $5,000,000,000  of  insurance  in  force.  In 
the  next  three  days  applications  poured  in  at  the  rate 
of  about  $200,000,000  a  day. 

191 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

At  midnight  of  February  14,  1918,  all  world 
records  for  insurance  were  smashed  by  the  receipt 
of  54,000  applications  aggregating  more  than 
$500,000,000.  On  Febraury  12  eight  Army  camps, 
with  an  average  strength  of  about  30,000  men  each, 
were  99  per  cent,  insured  or  better,  while  the  lowest 
camp  had  93  per  cent,  of  its  personnel  insured. 
The  Official  Bulletin  recorded  that  on  February  19, 
1918,  the  percentage  of  insured  in  26  Army  camps 
ranged  from  92  to  99.9  per  cent.  In  the  six  weeks 
from  January  1,  1918,  more  than  $6,000,000,000  of 
insurance  was  written.  On  May  14  more  than 
2,000,000  soldiers  and  sailors  had  been  insured  for 
more  than  $16,500,000,000.  On  June  30,  1918,  Secre- 
tary McAdoo  announced  that  more  than  $21,500,- 
000,000  of  insurance  was  on  the  books,  with  an  aver- 
age policy  of  $8,387.  By  October  6,  the  anniversary 
of  the  passage  of  the  Act,  this  average  was  raised  to 
approximately  $9,300  per  man. 

The  Government  has  entered  the  field  of  life  insur- 
ance on  an  enormous  scale,  and  is  under  contract  to 
remain  in  the  field  for  a  long  period  after  the  war. 
It  is  extremely  improbable  that  it  will  ever  withdraw, 
or  that  it  will  refuse  eventually  to  extend  the  priv- 
ilege of  insurance  to  classes  of  public  servants  other 
than  those  now  provided  for  —  perhaps  generally  to 
all  classes. 


192 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE    VOCATIONAL    REHABILITATION    ACT 

Its  provisions  —  Classes  eligible  for  reeducation  —  Powers  and 
duties  of  the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education  — 
Continuance  of  family  allotments  and  allowances  dur- 
ing training  —  Disciplinary  powers  of  the  Federal  Board  — 
Extension  of  training  to  classes  not  totally  inca- 
pacitated—  Cooperation  of  the  Federal  Board  with  other 
agencies  —  Physical  restoration  under  the  medical  author- 
ities of  the  Army  and  Navy  —  Cooperation  in  occupa- 
tional therapy  —  Special  gift  fund  for  vocational  rehabili- 
tation authorized  —  Quarterly  and  annual  reports  required 
—  Eehabilitation  work  organized  by  the  Federal  Board  — 
Probable  period  of  training  —  Instruction  not  limited  to 
manual  trades  and  industrial  processes. 

The  development  of  the  national  programme  for 
the  reeducation  of  our  disabled  soldiers  and  sailors 
has  been  traced  in  Chapter  XIV,  and  the  story  told 
of  the  origin,  course  and  enactment  of  the  Vocational 
Rehabilitation  Act  of  June  27,  1918.  It  remains  to 
examine  the  provisions  of  the  Act  and  the  manner  in 
which  they  will  be  carried  out. 

In  brief,  the  Act  provides  (Section  2)  "  that  every 
person  who  is  disabled  under  circumstances  entitling 
him,  after  discharge  from  the  military  or  naval  forces 
of  the  United  States,  to  compensation"  under  Article 
III  of  the  War  Risk  Insurance  Act  of  October  6,  1917, 
and  who,  after  his  discharge,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education, 

is  unable  to  carry  on  a  gainful  occupation,  to  resume  his 
former  occupation,  or  to  enter  upon  some  other  occupation, 
or  having  resumed  or  entered  upon  such  occupation  is 

193 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

unable  to  continue  the  same  successfully,  shall  be  furnished 
by  the  said  Board,  where  vocational  rehabilitation  is  feas- 
ible, such  course  of  vocational  rehabilitation  as  the  Board 
shall  prescribe  and  provide. 

The  Board  shall  have  the  power,  and  it  shall  be  its  duty, 
to  furnish  the  persons  included  in  this  section,  suitable 
courses  of  vocational  rehabilitation  to  be  provided  and 
prescribed  by  the  Board,  and  every  person  electing  to  fol- 
low such  a  course  of  vocational  rehabilitation  shall,  while 
following  the  same,  receive  monthly  compensation  equal  to 
the  amount  of  his  monthly  pay  for  the  last  month  of  his 
active  service,  or  equal  to  the  amount  to  which  he  would  be 
entitled  under  Article  III  of  said  [War  Risk  Insurance] 
Act,  whichever  amount  is  the  greater.  If  such  person  was 
an  enlisted  man  at  the  time  of  his  discharge,  for  the  period 
during  which  he  is  so  afforded  a  course  of  rehabilitation, 
his  family  shall  receive  compulsory  allotment  and  family 
allowance  according  to  the  terms  of  Article  II  of  said  [War 
Risk  Insurance]  Act  in  the  same  manner  as  if  he  were  an 
enlisted  man,  and  for  the  purpose  of  computing  and  paying 
compulsory  allotment  and  family  allowance  his  compensa- 
tion shall  be  treated  as  his  monthly  pay :  Provided,  That  if 
such  person  willfully  fails  or  refuses  to  follow  the  pre- 
scribed course  of  vocational  rehabilitation  which  he  has 
elected  to  follow,  in  a  manner  satisfactory  to  the  Board, 
the  said  Board  in  its  discretion  may  certify  to  that  effect  to 
the  Bureau  [of  War  Risk  Insurance]  and  the  said  Bureau 
shall,  during  such  period  of  failure  or  refusal,  withhold  any 
part  or  all  of  the  monthly  compensation  due  such  person 
and  not  subject  to  compulsory  allotment  which  the  said 
Board  may  have  determined  should  be  withheld:  Provided, 
however,  That  no  vocational  teaching  shall  be  carried  on  in 
any  hospital  until  the  medical  authorities  certify  that  the 
condition  of  the  patient  is  such  as  to  justify  such  teaching. 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  disciplinary  provision  is 
so  drawn  that  the  family  or  dependents  of  the  man 
taking  a  course  of  reeducation  will  not  be  made  to 
suffer  by  his  misconduct.  Should  he  neglect  his 

194 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION  ACT 

course  or  start  on  a  career  of  drinking  or  carousing, 
the  money  cut  off  will  be  only  that  portion  of  his 
monthly  pay  above  his  family  allotment.  In  other 
words,  his  pocket  money  and  the  money  reserved  for 
himself  personally  will  be  withheld,  and  his  family 
will  not  be  made  innocent  sufferers  through  his  lazi- 
ness or  willful  misconduct. 
The  Act  provides  further  that : 

The  military  and  naval  family  allowance  appropriation 
provided  for  in  Section  18  of  said  [War  Risk  Insurance] 
Act  shall  be  available  for  the  payment  of  the  family  allow- 
ances provided  in  this  section  [supra] ;  and  the  military 
and  naval  compensation  appropriation  provided  for  in 
Section  19  of  said  Act  shall  be  available  for  the  payment  of 
the  monthly  compensation  herein  provided.  No  compensa- 
tion under  Article  III  of  said  Act  shall  be  paid  for  the 
period  during  which  any  such  person  is  furnished  by  said 
[Federal]  Board  course  of  vocational  rehabilitation  except 
as  is  hereinbefore  provided. 

This  provision  leaves  a  large  opening  for  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  Federal  Board.  It  means  that  the 
Board  may  give  training  in  vocational  reeducation 
courses  to  persons  who  have  not  been  so  badly  injured 
as  to  come  within  the  category  of  those  unable  to 
resume  or  otherwise  pursue  a  gainful  occupation, 
when  the  Federal  Board  deems  these  persons  worthy 
of  such  training. 

The  Act  proceeds  (Section  3)  : 

That  tbe  courses  of  vocational  rehabilitation  provided  for 
under  this  Act  shall,  as  far  as  practicable  and  under  such 
conditions  as  the  Board  may  prescribe,  be  made  available 
without  cost  for  instruction  for  the  benefit  of  any  person 
who  is  disabled  under  circumstances  entitling  him,  after 
discharge  from  the  military  or  naval  forces  of  the  United 

195 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

States,  to  compensation  under  Article  III  of  said  [War 
Risk  Insurance]  Act,  and  who  is  not  included  in  Section  2 
hereof  [the  Vocational  Rehabilitation  Act]. 

In  other  words,  soldiers  who  are  disabled  enough, 
to  receive  compensation  for  their  injuries  may,  in  the 
discretion  of  the  Federal  Board,  be  given  such  educa- 
tion as  will  better  their  condition,  and  this  education 
is  to  be  at  no  cost  to  them ;  but  pay  and  compensation 
for  the  family  of  the  student  is  allowed  only  to  the 
enumerated  classes  of  cases.  This  greatly  enlarges 
the  scope  of  the  work,  and  places  within  reach  of  many 
a  poor  fellow  who  has  occupied  a  place  of  undue 
insignificance  in  the  business  and  working  world 
educational  facilities  through  which  he  may  have  a 
fair  chance  to  rise  and  develop. 

The  Act  continues : 

SEC.  4.  That  the  Board  shall  have  the  power  and  it  shall 
be  its  duty  to  provide  such  facilities,  instructors,  and  courses 
as  may  be  necessary  to  insure  proper  training  for  such  per- 
sons as  are  required  to  follow  such  courses  as  are  herein 
provided;  to  prescribe  the  courses  to  be  followed  by  such 
persons;  to  pay,  when  in  the  discretion  of  the  Board  such 
payment  is  necessary,  the  expense  of  travel,  lodging,  sub- 
sistence, and  other  necessary  expenses  of  such  persons  while 
following  the  prescribed  courses;  to  do  all  things  necessary 
to  insure  vocational  rehabilitation;  to  do  all  things  necessary 
placement  of  rehabilitated  persons  in  suitable  or  gainful 
occupations.  The  Board  shall  have  the  power  to  make 
such  rules  or  regulations  as  may  be  necessary  for  the 
proper  performance  of  its  duties  as  prescribed  by  this  Act, 
and  is  hereby  authorized  and  directed  to  utilize,  with  the 
approval  of  the  Secretary  of  Labor,  the  facilities  of  the 
Department  of  Labor,  in  so  far  as  may  be  practicable,  in 
the  placement  of  rehabilitated  persons  in  suitable  or  gain- 
ful occupations. 

SEC.  5.  That  it  shall  also  be  the  duty  of  the  Board  to 
196 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION  ACT 

make  or  cause  to  have  made  studies,  investigations,  and 
reports  concerning  the  vocational  rehabilitation  of  disabled 
persons  and  their  placement  in  suitable  or  gainful  occupa- 
tions. "When  the  Board  deems  it  advisable,  such  studies, 
investigations,  and  reports  may  be  made  in  cooperation 
with  or  through  other  departments  and  bureaus  of  the 
Government,  and  the  Board  in  its  discretion  may  cooperate 
with  such  public  or  private  agencies  as  it  may  deem  advis- 
able in  performing  the  duties  imposed  upon  it  by  this  Act. 
SEC.  6.  That  all  medical  and  surgical  work  or  other  treat- 
ment necessary  to  give  functional  and  mental  restoration  to 
disabled  persons  prior  to  their  discharge  from  the  military 
or  naval  forces  of  the  United  States  shall  be  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  War  Department  and  the  Navy  Department, 
respectively.  Whenever  training  is  employed  as  a  thera- 
peutic measure  by  the  War  Department  or  the  Navy  De- 
partment, a  plan  may  be  established  between  these  agencies 
and  the  Board  acting  in  advisory  capacity  to  insure,  in  so 
far  as  medical  requirements  permit,  a  proper  process  of 
training  and  the  proper  preparation  of  instructors  for  such 
training.  A  plan  may  also  be  established  between  the  War 
and  Navy  Departments  and  the  Board  whereby  these  de- 
partments shall  act  in  an  advisory  capacity  with  the  Board 
in  the  care  of  the  health  of  the  soldier  and  sailor  after  his 
discharge. 

The  Federal  Board  is  enjoined  to  cooperate  with 
the  "War  and  Navy  Departments  in  establishing  its 
rules  and  regulations  for  vocational  training  "in  so 
far  as  may  be  necessary  to  effect  a  continuous  process 
of  vocational  training. ' '  This  means  that  a  plan  should 
be  worked  out  whereby,  when  it  is  necessary  to  give 
a  man  exercise  in  the  hospital  as  a  therapeutic  meas- 
ure, this  work  must  be  so  arranged  as  to  dovetail  in, 
whenever  possible,  as  a  part  of  the  vocational  training, 
and  thus  to  economize  time  and  energy  as  far  as 
expedient. 

197 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

The  Federal  Board  is  (Section  7) 

authorized  and  empowered  to  receive  such  gifts  and  dona- 
tions from  either  public  or  private  sources  as  may  be 
offered  unconditionally.  All  moneys  received  as  gifts  or 
donations  shall  be  paid  into  the  Treasury  of  the  United 
States,  and  shall  constitute  a  permanent  fund,  to  be  called 
the  "  Special  fund  for  vocational  rehabilitation,"  to  be  used 
under  the  direction  of  the  said  Board,  in  connection  with 
the  appropriations  hereby  made  or  hereafter  to  be  made, 
to  defray  the  expenses  of  providing  and  maintaining 
courses  of  vocational  rehabilitation ;  and  a  full  report  of  all 
gifts  and  donations  offered  and  accepted,  and  all  disburse- 
ments therefrom,  shall  be  submitted  annually  to  Congress 
by  said  Board. 

The  object  of  the  gift  fund  is  to  provide  a  means  for 
interested  persons  to  help  in  the  work,  from  which 
perhaps  they  are  debarred  by  lack  of  training  to  assist 
otherwise.  It  is  also  to  provide  the  Federal  Board 
with  a  fund  that  can  be  used  as  circumstances  and 
particular  cases  justify.  It  is  quite  conceivable  that 
there  will  arise  cases  of  men  being  trained  in  a  trade 
and  having  no  capital  to  provide  the  necessary  tools. 
The  gift  fund  will  cover  such  cases  as  this  and  other 
meritorious  projects  of  relief  or  help. 

The  Act  carried  an  initial  appropriation  of  $2,000,- 
000  to  start  the  work.  Congress  prescribed  reports 
of  the  progress  of  the  work  every  three  months,  to  be 
filed  with  the  Secretary  of  the  Senate  and  Clerk  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  for  the  information  of 
Congress,  and  also  an  annual  report.  The  Act  pro- 
vided that  no  person  of  draft  age  should  be  exempted 
from  draft  by  reason  of  employment  by  the  Board. 

The  Act  gives  the  Federal  Board  the  widest  powers 
and  latitude.  Under  its  provisions  the  Board  may 

198 


VOCATIONAL  KEHABILITATION  ACT 

exercise  a  very  wide  discretion;  in  fact,  amazingly 
few  restrictions  are  placed  upon  it.  The  work  of 
organizing  for  its  new  duties  was  taken  up  vigorously, 
yet  cautiously,  by  the  Board,  and  by  September  1,1918, 
it  was  ready  and  had  begun  the  rehabilitation  of  dis- 
abled soldiers  and  sailors,  offering  them  a  fair  chance 
to  become  self-supporting,  self-respecting  members  of 
society. 

Illustrative  of  the  many  national  elements  mak- 
ing up  the  population  of  the  United  States  and  its 
Army  was  the  first  man  placed  for  reeducation  — 
Louis  Theodore,  born  on  the  island  of  Patras,  Greece. 
He  was  a  baker,  disabled  by  sudden  transitions  from 
hot  bakerooms  to  the  severe  weather  of  the  winter  of 
1917-1918,  and  was  discharged  for  chronic  sciatic 
rheumatism.  He  desired  a  business  course  and  was 
placed  in  a  business  college  in  Washington,  where  he 
made  excellent  progress  and  obtained  high  marks  in 
all  his  studies  and  in  the  English  language.  He  also 
completed  his  American  naturalization;  he  is  inordi- 
nately proud  of  being  an  American  citizen,  and  over- 
whelmingly grateful  for  the  opporunity  which, 
through  his  disability,  was  given  to  him. 

The  Board  has  announced  that  thorough  training 
is  to  be  its  main  object  —  such  preparation  that  the 
graduated  student  will  be  able  to  go  directly  from 
his  final  class  into  a  workshop  or  trade  or  profession 
and  do  the  things  he  has  been  taught  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  compare  favorably  with  men  who  have 
long  been  engaged  in  doing  those  very  things  as  a 
means  of  livelihood. 

The  length  of  time  required  to  graduate  a  man 
depends  upon  his  mental  quickness,  the  nature  of  his 

199 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

injury,  and  the  application  he  puts  into  his  study. 
In  the  simpler  trades  and  processes,  judging  by  the 
experience  of  other  countries,  notably  Canada,  it  may 
be  said  that  six  months  of  training  is  about  the  general 
average.  This  presupposes,  of  course,  the  student  to 
be  faithful  and  diligent,  and  to  have  some  knowledge 
of  the  subject  in  some  other  branch  before  he  takes  up 
specialized  training. 

The  impression  must  not  be  gained  that  all  of  the 
instruction  is  necessarily  in  manual  trades  and  indus- 
trial processes.  There  are  many  men  who  have  no 
inclination,  talent  or  taste  for  such  a  means  of  liveli- 
hood, and  whose  previous  education  is  such  that  they 
are  not  at  all  inclined  toward  any  but  a  semi-profes- 
sion or  a  profession.  It  is  quite  within  the  bounds  of 
reason,  for  instance,  to  suppose  the  case  of  a  lawyer 
who  returns  shot  through  the  lungs  and  with  perhaps 
incipient  tuberculosis,  arrested  it  is  true,  but  which 
makes  it  imperative  that  if  he  is  to  live  and  have 
health,  he  must  be  out  in  the  open  and  mainly  in  a 
high,  dry  atmosphere.  Such  a  case  could  be  educated 
as  a  forestry  expert  for  use  in  the  Government  forest 
reserves  in  the  West,  or  as  an  irrigation  specialist  for 
the  semi-arid  regions.  Or  again,  some  skilled  manual 
worker  with  good  fundamental  education  may  lose  a 
hand.  He  may  be  strongly  inclined  toward  the  law. 
There  is  no  reason  why,  if  he  is  especially  suited  for 
development  in  that  line,  he  should  not  be  accorded 
it ;  but  in  such  a  case  there  must  be  some  overwhelm- 
ingly good  reason  for  the  large  expenditure  necessary 
thus  to  reeducate  a  man,  and  not  merely  his  whim  or 
his  notion  that  he  would  like  to  be  a  lawyer. 

The  underlying  principle  of  the  whole  reeducational 
200 


VOCATIONAL  EEHABILITATION  ACT 

programme  is  justice  to  the  man.  The  Government 
desires  to  restore  the  disabled  to  civil  life  in  as  good 
condition,  if  not  better,  as  regards  making  a  living, 
as  they  enjoyed  at  the  time  they  were  called  to  the 
colors.  The  Government  bears  the  expense  of  retrain- 
ing and  placement  in  the  trade  or  calling  for  which 
they  are  reeducated,  and  also  assumes  a  continuing 
monetary  consideration  for  injury,  paid  regardless  of 
the  earning  capacity  of  the  retrained  man. 


201 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  PROCESS  OF  RESTORATION :  CURE  BY  WORK 

An  improved  therapy  of  restoration  a  beneficent  by-product  of 
the  war  —  Hope  the  greatest  restorative  and  work  its 
ablest  assistant  —  Hospital  training  —  Physical  processes 
of  restoration  contributory  to  vocational  rehabilitation  — 
Cooperation  of  medical  authorities  and  the  Federal  Board 
for  Vocational  Education  —  Three  stages  in  restoration  — • 
The  first  stage,  acute  illness,  passed  abroad  —  The  stage 
of  convalescence  —  Occupational  therapy  — ' '  Invalid ' '  or 
' '  bedside  occupations ' ' —  The  ' '  curative  workshop ' ' — 
The  final  stage  of  vocational  reeducation. 

One  of  the  few  beneficent  by-products  of  the  Great 
War  is  the  knowledge  gained  regarding  influence  of 
the  mind,  exerted  through  occupation,  upon  physical 
recuperation.  A  great  stride  forward  in  therapy  has 
beefo.  registered,  and  in  the  coming  years  the  new  paths 
in  restorative  methods  which  now  lead  in  short  cuts 
directly  to  amazing  results  will  have  become  main 
highways  in  medical  science.  It  is  not  longer  open  to 
question  that  a  new  and  greatly  improved  method  of 
handling  convalescents  has  been  evolved.  The  experi- 
ence of  every  belligerent  country  in  dealing  with  its 
wounded  has  been  the  same.  The  general  verdict  is 
that  a  wonderfully  effective  system  of  restoration  has 
been  developed;  the  thousands  of  cases  in  which  it 
has  been  used  with  entire  success  attest  its  worth 
beyond  the  peradventure  of  a  doubt. 

Briefly  stated,  it  consists  primarily  in  impressing 
upon  the  patient  that,  notwithstanding  his  injuries, 
he  is  not  incapacitated  for  civil  usefulness,  that  his 

202 


CUBE  BY  WORK 

handicap  of  disability  will  be  largely,  if  not  entirely, 
neutralized  and  overcome  by  education  designed  pre- 
cisely for  that  purpose ;  and  that  the  sooner  he  gets  at 
the  work  of  training,  the  more  efficient  he  is  likely  to 
be  in  his  rehabilitated  status. 

The  active,  healthy,  self -supporting  young  man  who 
loses  a  leg  or  an  arm  or  has  his  system  shattered  almost 
invariably  descends  into  an  abyss  of  gloom  and 
despair.  He  pictures  himself  as  a  mutilated  mendi- 
cant, or  as  a  burden  to  his  family,  or  as  facing  a  life 
of  uselessness  bounded  on  the  one  side  by  charity  and 
on  the  other  by  lack  of  opportunity  to  better  his  con- 
dition. He  thinks  he  has  been  rendered  useless  and 
placeless  in  the  scheme  of  things ;  that  he  is  debarred 
from  the  right  of  every  true  man,  the  love  and  com- 
panionship of  some  good  woman  and  a  home  of  his 
own,  by  reason  of  not  being  able  to  support  a  family. 
The  future  looks  dark  indeed  to  him. 

From  these  depths  he  is  raised  to  hope  and  desire 
for  life  again.  He  is  convinced  that  notwithstanding 
his  injuries,  he  is  still  the  architect  of  his  own  for- 
tunes. He  is  shown  irrefutable  records  of  other  men 
as  badly  injured  as  he,  who,  by  force  of  will  and  deter- 
mination, have  overcome  their  disadvantages  and  are 
in  as  good  position,  if  not  better,  regarding  earning 
capacity  as  they  were  before  they  joined  the  colors. 
He  is  impressed  with  the  idea  that  he  must  again  prove 
himself  a  soldier  and  a  man.  As  such,  he  must  rally 
his  forces  and  determine  to  cooperate  with  the  Govern- 
ment in  training  to  be  an  effective  soldier  in  the  army 
of  peace,  engaged  in  obliterating  the  scars  of  war  and 
constructing  anew  a  greater  temple  of  civilization. 

It  is  rare  indeed  that  the  disabled  man  does  not 
203 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

answer  such  a  call  to  go  forward  and  put  up  a  fight 
again.  The  message  inspires  him  as  the  bugle's  ring- 
ing summons  carried  him  into  the  charge  on  the  bat- 
tlefield. He  should  then  be  made  to  see  that  every 
minute  of  the  time  counts,  and  if  he  has  a  long  con- 
valescence ahead  of  him,  that  he  can  employ  the  hours 
to  the  greatest  advantage  by  doing  some  of  the  pre- 
liminary study.  The  admonition  of  Marcus  Aurelius 
is  peculiarly  applicable  to  the  philosophy  of  the 
wounded  soldier 's  situation :  * '  Hasten  then  to  the  end 
which  thou  hast  before  thee,  and  throwing  away  idle 
hopes,  come  to  thine  own  aid,  if  thou  carest  at  all  for 
thyself,  while  it  is  in  thy  power."  So  the  injured 
man  should  be  convinced  that  such  study  will  add  to 
his  efficiency  when  he  takes  up  the  work  of  reeduca- 
tion in  earnest  on  his  discharge  from  the  hospital. 
Not  only  that,  but  it  should  actually  aid  in  his  recov- 
ery and  hasten  the  end  of  his  term  in  the  hospital. 
Advantage  is  thus  taken  of  the  medical  fact  that 
when  the  mind  of  the  patient  is  occupied  with  some- 
thing in  which  he  is  interested  and  which  has  a  bear- 
ing of  advantage  in  the  way  of  improving  his  status 
in  life,  he  will  progress  much  faster  to  recovery  than 
the  man  who  is  not  so  occupied  and  who  broods  over 
his  condition  or  his  future.  Just  what  this  reaction 
is,  just  what  are  the  subtle  processes  in  the  repair 
laboratory  with  which  each  human  system  is  equipped 
by  nature,  has  not  yet  been  analyzed.  Suffice  it  to 
say  that  it  is  a  fact.  Hope  is  the  greatest  restorative 
of  all,  and  work  is  its  ablest  assistant. 

As  a  part  of  the  programme  of  inspiring  the  coope- 
ration of  the  patient  himself,  the  policy  should  be 
adopted  of  explaining  to  him  the  purpose  of  the  vari- 

204 


CURE  BY  WORK 

ous  things  that  are  being  done  for  him,  so  that  he  can 
understand  and  bring  an  approving  and  assisting 
mentality  to  bear  upon  and  aid  in  the  processes  of 
restoration.  If  it  is  a  question  of  exercise  to  rehabili- 
tate a  set  of  impaired  muscles  and  the  movements  must 
be  persisted  in,  whenever  possible  those  movements 
should  be  given  which  are  used  in  the  trade  or  occu- 
pation or  process  for  which  the  man  has  chosen  to  be 
reeducated.  The  patient  should  be  made  to  under- 
stand that  while  he  is  bringing  back  into  function  his 
muscles,  he  is  not  doing  aimless  exercise,  but  is  actu- 
ally being  educated  in  a  part  of  that  calling  which 
will  afford  him  after  his  return  to  civil  life  good 
wages  and  a  steady  occupation. 

Under  the  law  the  injured  man  is  under  the  juris- 
diction of  the  "War  or  the  Navy  Department,  accord- 
ing to  whether  he  belongs  to  the  Army  or  the  Navy, 
until  he  has  received  his  final  discharge  from  the 
hospital  and  from  the  service  on  account  of  disability ; 
that  is  to  say,  his  health  and  care  in  the  hospital  is 
given  the  supreme  consideration.  The  law,  however, 
confides  his  vocational  reeducation  to  the  Federal 
Board  for  Vocational  Education,  and  the  medical 
authorities  and  the  Federal  Board  are  enjoined  to 
work  in  cooperation  in  his  vocational  rehabilitation 
for  civil  life. 

Three  stages  are  traversed  by  the  patient  in  his 
return  to  civil  life:  first,  acute  illness  or  need  for 
medical  or  surgical  care ;  second,  convalescence,  which 
is  often  lengthy ;  and  third,  the  real  vocational  reedu- 
cation. These-  stages  may  merge  into  one  another  or 
they  may  be  separate  and  distinct.  "With  the  majority 
of  the  disabled  men  of  the  United  States  forces,  it  is 

205 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

likely  that  the  first  stage  will  be  passed  in  France  or 
England,  at  least  until  there  is  no  danger  in  undertak- 
ing a  journey  to  a  port  at  which  the  disabled  man  can 
be  embarked  upon  one  of  our  admirable  floating  hos- 
pitals and  brought  to  his  own  country  for  recupera- 
tion, convalescence,  and  such  extended  or  specialized 
training  as  his  case  may  require.  The  hospital  facil- 
ities of  France  and  England  are  heavily  taxed,  and 
our  men  are  invalided  home  as  fast  as  it  is  possible  or 
expedient  to  move  them. 

As  the  patient  begins  to  emerge  from  his  first  and 
acute  condition  of  pain  or  disease,  he  may  be  given 
what  is  known  as  "invalid"  or  ''bedside  occupation," 
also  designated  as  ' '  occupational  therapy ' ' ;  and  later, 
when  he  is  so  far  recovered  as  to  leave  bed  or  ward, 
"curative  workshop  occupation"  may  be  given.  The 
broad  term,  "occupational  therapy,"  covers  all  of 
these  activities,  and  this  is  the  treatment  that  the 
war  has  so  greatly  developed.  Occupational  therapy 
is  the  science  of  healing  by  occupation.  In  the  cura> 
tive  workshop  the  more  advanced  patients  in  conval- 
escence are  given  occupational  treatment,  which 
should  be  made,  whenever  possible,  a  part  of  the 
course  of  reeducation  to  come  later. 

In  the  first  or  acute  stage  of  disability  and  when 
the  patient  is  just  beginning  to  mend,  "invalid  occu- 
pation" is  largely  used  as  a  part  of  the  treatment, 
especially  in  cases  in  which  his  condition  condemns 
the  injured  man  to  remaining  in  bed  for  an  extended 
period.  These  occupations  are  designed  mainly  to 
help  pass  the  time,  but  very  often  they  may  prove  of 
considerable  physical  benefit.  One  of  the  main  objects 
also  is  to  help  the  wounded  man  to  feel  that  he  is  not 

206 


PATIEXT     IX     A     MOXTREAL     HOSPITAL    OPERATIXG     A     HAXD    LOOM, 
A    FAVORITE    BEDSIDE    OCCUPATIOX 


WOOD    CARVIXG,    A    TREAT3IEXT    PRESCRIBED    FOR    FUXCTIOXAL 
RESTORATIOX  OF  WRIST  AXD  FIXGERS 


CURE  BY  WORK 

entirely  wasting  the  hours,  to  save  him  from  too  much 
introspection  and  to  ward  off  brooding.  Depression, 
lack  of  exercise  and  worry  are  found  to  have  a  bad 
effect  on  physical  condition,  and  it  is  with  a  view  to 
forestalling  these  by  keeping  the  man's  mind  and 
hands  busy  that  these  employments  are  chiefly  de- 
signed. If  they  can  have  some  relation  to  the  course 
of  vocational  education  the  man  has  made  up  his 
mind  to  take,  even  though  remote,  so  much  the  better, 
and  they  have  a  very  much  greater  value.  The  range 
of  bedside  occupations  is  necessarily  limited,  and  they 
cannot  always  have  a  direct  practical  value  and  bear- 
ing upon  the  future  of  the  patient.  But  in  some 
instances  they  can  be  made  the  initiatory  processes  in 
the  course  of  training  the  man  will  afterwards  take, 
and  if  he  is  made  aware  of  this  fact  he  will  usually 
enter  upon  them  with  a  zest  and  an  interest  not  to  be 
found  in  doing  things  merely  because  it  is  a  part  of 
treatment  or  a  matter  of  exercise. 

After  the  patient  is-  able  to  leave  his  bed  and  is 
progressing,  the  " curative  workshop"  should  be  the 
next  stage  for  him.  "Occupational  therapy"  should 
be  continued  during  convalescence,  designed  to  cover 
the  tedium  of  that  time  during  which  medical  or 
surgical  treatment  has  become  of  less  importance,  but 
while  it  is  still  necessary  for  the  man  to  have  strict 
medical  supervision.  Long  convalescence  is  involved 
in  many  of  the  disabilities  of  the  injured  soldier,  such 
as  nerve  disorders,  heart  trouble,  general  debility, 
tuberculosis,  rheumatism,  injuries  requiring  ortho- 
paedic treatment,  and  the  like. 

What  is  done  in  the  convalescent  stage  forms  the 
vital  link  between  medical  treatment  and  vocational 

207 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

reeducation  or  economic  readjustment.  It  may  be 
asserted  that  the  success  of  vocational  reeducation, 
which  is  the  final  stage  in  restoration,  can  be  helped 
much  by  the  right  kind  of  occupational  therapy  in 
the  curative  workshop.  The  convalescent  stage  is  the 
most  critical  and  important  of  the  three  stages  of 
rehabilitation.  During  this  period  ambition  and  the 
desire  for  self-support  and  economic  usefulness  may 
be  fostered  with  best  results,  replacing  the  apathy, 
despair  and  dependent  condition  into  which  so  many 
of  the  men  are  apt  to  fall.  This  is  the  period  also  in 
which  the  patient  regains  the  functional  use  of  the 
body.  The  extent  to  which  he  becomes  interested  in 
the  activities  of  the  curative  workshops  determines 
in  many  cases  whether  he  can  be  roused  to  take  voca- 
tional education  later. 

The  curative  workshop,  like  the  other  parts  of  the 
hospital,  must  be  under  military  discipline.  Author- 
ity is  necessary  during  convalescence  so  that  the  men 
shall  not  retard  their  recovery  by  excessive  exercise 
or  rest,  wrong  food  or  bad  habits.  The  "work  pre- 
scription ' '  must  be  enforced  just  as  rigorously  as  any 
other  prescription.  Beyond  this  point,  and  except  in 
rare  instances,  there  should  be  no  recourse  to  military 
discipline.  A  Canadian  report,  speaking  of  the  cura- 
tive workshop  and  its  effects,  says : 

The  greatest  benefit  derived  by  the  men  is  the  hardening 
of  mind  and  muscle  in  preparation  for  civilian  life.  For 
many  months  they  have  not  been  compelled  to  think  for 
themselves,  nor  have  they  been  compelled  to  think  of  their 
own  food  or  raiment  or  even  the  welfare  of  their  families. 
For  the  greater  part  of  the  time  the  daily  effort  required 
in  military  life  has  not  been  as  great  as  they  formerly  made 
in  earning  a  living.  After  the  pain  and  suffering  of  their 

208 


CUKE  BY  WORK 

wounds  are  allayed,  they  spend  many  weeks  in  hospitals 
and  convalescent  homes  in  a  state  of  pampered  and  glori- 
fied idleness.  The  classes  fill  in  the  gaps  between  the  other 
items  of  routine,  such  as  massage,  physical  training  and  the 
like,  and  produce  a  well  ordered  and  well  rounded  day, 
much  like  the  civilian  life  which  they  are  rapidly  approach- 
ing again. 

It  is  in  the  curative  workshops  that  the  Federal 
Board  for  Vocational  Education  should  begin  with 
the  men,  feeling  them  out,  testing  their  capacities, 
finding  out  what  their  residual  or  latent  capabilities 
are.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  a  large  percentage 
of  the  American  forces  were  drawn  from  the  ranks 
of  young  men  who  were  just  starting  out ;  many  of 
them  had  no  very  fixed  occupation  and  had  been 
trained  for  no  particular  trade.  To  turn  a  man  loose 
with  no  means  of  doing  any  particular  thing,  and 
with  a  handicap  of  physical  disability  as  well,  would 
be  criminal.  Hence,  the  task  is  made  difficult  by  the 
necessity  of  finding  out  what  these  young  fellows  are 
best  suited  for,  and  then  starting  from  the  very 
bottom  to  teach  them  something  useful  by  which  they 
can  make  a  living.  The  Board's  "vocational  ad- 
visers," skilled  men  of  wide  trade  information,  of 
personality  and  with  broad  understanding,  were  de- 
signed to  be  in  the  hospitals  to  plan  with  the  men  their 
future,  to  ascertain  what  each  man 's  previous  occupa- 
tional history  was,  if  any,  and  what  he  wants  to  do  in 
future.  Having  arranged  these  fundamental  pre- 
liminaries, the  man  should  be  given  such  training  in 
the  occupational  therapy  and  while  still  under  medical 
supervision  in  the  curative  workshop  as  will  lead  up 
to  or  be  a  part  of  the  course  he  has  chosen. 

209 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

The  convalescent  patient  begins  with  short  periods 
of  work.  As  his  recovery  progresses,  the  time  re- 
quired for  medical  treatment  decreases,  and  the  time 
for  work  increases.  In  the  earlier  stages  of  con- 
valescence, the  medical  treatment  is  the  chief  concern  ; 
this  diminishes  in  importance  as  the  patent  recovers, 
while  the  value  of  training  increases  in  like  ratio. 

When  the  medical  authorities  have  pronounced  him 
well,  or  at  least,  that  everything  possible  has  been 
done  for  him  in  the  way  of  medical  and  surgical  treat- 
ment, and  his  continuous  presence  in  or  about  a  hos- 
pital is  no  longer  necessary,  he  is  given  his  discharge 
from  the  hospital  and  from  the  Army  or  the  Navy. 
Thereupon,  if  he  has  elected  to  take  the  training 
offered  by  the  Government,  he  is  granted  a  "  training 
allowance  "  of  $65  per  month  to  support  him  while  he 
is  undergoing  the  course  he  has  elected.  If  he  is 
married  and  his  wife  lives  with  him  while  he  is 
training,  he  is  allowed  $75  per  month.  If  he  is  mar- 
ried and  does  not  live  with  his  wife  in  the  training 
period,  she  is  allowed  $30  per  month  for  herself  and 
$10  per  month  for  each  child  up  to  three.  If  there 
are  more  than  three  children,  the  Federal  Board  will 
make  such  additional  payment  as  may  be  necessary 
to  maintain  them.  The  $65  paid  the  man  for  support 
is  supposed  to  cover  board,  lodging,  clothing  and  in- 
cidentals. He  is  furnished  transportation  to  the 
point  at  which  he  is  to  enter  upon  his  studies.  If 
it  is  in  a  college  or  trade  school,  all  fees  are  paid, 
books  are  furnished  free,  and  expenses  for  laboratory 
material  and  the  like  are  also  met  by  the  Federal 
Board. 

Officers  receive  training  compensation  at  the  rate  of 
210 


CURE  BY  WORK 

pay  they  received  during  the  last  month  of  service 
and  no  family-support  allowance  is  made.  Officers 
are  expected  to  support  their  dependents  out  of  the 
fairly  liberal  pay  of  their  respective  ranks,  but  in 
other  respects  the  procedure  is  the  same.  If  the  dis- 
abled man  has  been  supporting  a  mother  or  other 
dependents,  provision  will  be  made  for  them  on  the 
same  terms  as  were  in  force  while  the  man  was  on 
active  service. 

The  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education  has 
established  branch  offices  in  14  districts,  covering  the 
whole  of  the  continental  United  States.  Each  branch 
office  is  in  charge  of  a  District  Vocational  Officer. 
Attached  to  each  office  is  a  local  board  of  three  mem- 
bers, one  representing  the  employers,  one  represent- 
ing labor,  and  the  third  a  physician.  This  board  sits 
with  the  District  Vocational  Officer  and  his  vocational 
advisers  in  passing  upon  applications  made  to  the 
district  office.  The  recommendations  of  the  local 
boards  are  subject  to  final  review  at  the  main  office 
of  the  Federal  Board  in  Washington,  but  they  are 
usually  followed. 

All  disabled  soldiers,  whether  in  or  out  of  the  hos- 
pital, should  address  their  communications  to  the 
Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education,  Washington, 
D.  C.,  or  to  the  district  office  of  the  Federal  Board  of 
the  district  in  which  he  is  located.  The  district  offices 
of  the  Board  are  located  at  the  following  points : 

District  No.  1 :  Maine,  Vermont,  New  Hampshire,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  Rhode  Island.  Office:  Room  433,  Tremont 
Building,  Boston,  Mass. 

District  No.  2 :  Connecticut,  New  York,  and  New  Jersey. 
Office :  Room  711,  280  Broadway,  New  York. 

211 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

District  No.  3:  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware.  Office: 
1000  Penn  Square  Building,  Philadephia,  Pa. 

District  No.  4:  District  of  Columbia,  Maryland,  Virginia, 
and  West  Virginia.  Office:  606  F  Street  NW.,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C. 

District  No.  5 :  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia, 
Florida  and  Tennessee.  Office:  Candler  Building,  Atlanta, 
Ga. 

District  No.  6:  Alabama,  Mississippi,  and  Louisana. 
Office:  822  Maison  Blanche  Annex,  New  Orleans,  La. 

District  No  7:  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Kentucky.  Office: 
906  Mercantile  Library  Building,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

District  No.  8 :  Michigan,  Illinois,  and  Wisconsin.  Office : 
1600  The  Westminster,  110  South  Dearborn  Street, 
Chicago,  HI. 

District  No.  9:  Iowa,  Nebraska,  Kansas,  and  Missouri. 
Office :  517  Chemical  Building,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

District  No.  10:  Minnesota,  North  Dakota,  and  South 
Dakota.  Office:  Room  742  Metropolitan  Bank  Building, 
Minneapolis,  Minn. 

District  No  11:  Wyoming,  Colorado,  New  Mexico,  and 
Utah.  Office:  Denver,  Colo. 

District  No  12 :  California,  Nevada,  and  Arizona.  Office 
San  Francisco,  Cal. 

District  No.  13:  Montana,  Idaho,  Oregon,  and  Washing- 
ton. Office:  Seattle,  Wash. 

District  No.  14 :  Arkansas,  Oklahoma,  and  Texas.  Office : 
Dallas,  Tex. 

This  does  not  mean  that  a  disabled  man  is  obliged 
to  make  a  trip  to  consult  the  officials  of  the  Board  of 
his  district.  On  the  contrary,  a  vocational  adviser  will 
be  sent  to  call  upon  him  in  his  home  and  spare  him  the 
expense.  In  cases  when  it  is  advisable  to  have  the 
subject  appear  personally  before  the  district  board, 
his  expenses  are  paid.  Thus  far  the  system  of  dividing 
the  country  into  districts  and  initiating  the  work  from 
the  district  offices  has  operated  admirably. 

212 


CHAPTEE  XVIII 

THE  CHOICE  OF  AN  OCCUPATION 

All  careers  open  to  the  disabled  man  —  The  welfare  of  the  indi- 
vidual the  criterion  of  choice  —  Vocational  advisers  — 
Their  qualifications  and  functions  —  Medical  limitations 
on  the  choice  of  an  occupation  —  Previous  experience  of 
the  patient  utilized  —  Examples  of  retraining  in  special- 
ized branches  of  pre-war  occupations. 

It  is  well  to  state  here  and  now,  that  all  careers  are  open 
to  the  disabled  man.  He  is  not  confined  to  a  choice  of 
manual  trades.  Whatever  is  best  for  that  man,  whatever 
offers  the  greatest  opportunity  for  civilian  usefulness,  per- 
sonal happiness  and  content,  and  well  paid  return  accord- 
ing to  his  capabilities,  that  training  shall  he  have. 

This  statement  was  made  by  the  Federal  Board  for 
Vocational  Education  soon  after  Congress  placed 
upon  it  the  duty  of  reeducating  the  disabled  men.  It 
gives  the  underlying  principle  of  the  work  in  a  nut- 
shell. With  these  principles  ever  in  view  the  work 
of  rehabilitation  is  undertaken.  The  welfare,  future 
usefulness  and  happiness  of  the  man  are  the  real 
criteria.  This  is  a  fact  that  those  who  are  to  be  re- 
educated should  firmly  grasp.  The  whole  scheme  is 
based  upon  nothing  else  than  the  desire  to  do  as  much 
as  can  be  done  for  the  disabled  man.  His  future,  his 
happiness,  his  opportunity  to  be  a  useful,  well  paid 
citizen,  his  development  and  progress,  are  the  funda- 
mentals a  grateful  and  appreciative  Nation  is  en- 
deavoring to  insure. 

The  whole  matter  of  vocational  rehabilitation  is 
voluntary  on  the  part  of  the  disabled  man.  There  is 

213 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

no  compulsion  about  it.  He  can  take  it  or  leave  it, 
just  as  he  pleases.  If  he  desires  to  leave  the  hospital 
with  incapacitating  injuries  and  with  only  a  pension 
to  fall  back  upon,  qualified  only  for  some  semi-chari- 
table work,  able  to  earn  actually  but  a  mere  pittance 
in  the  long  years  to  come,  that  is  his  privilege.  He 
can  go  out  of  the  door  the  day  he  is  well,  with  no  one 
to  say  him  nay.  But  how  insanely  foolish  would  be 
any  man  who  adopted  such  a  short-sighted  and  utterly 
indefensible  course !  If  he  has  no  regard  for  himself, 
a  man  tempted  to  this  course  should  have  some  for  his 
relatives  and  dependents,  upon  whom  in  the  course  of 
time  he  will  inevitably  sag  down  for  support.  In 
recognition  of  the  fact  that  he  has  played  a  man's 
part,  his  country  is  going  to  do  its  best  to  stand  by 
the  disabled  man.  But  the  country  still  expects  him 
to  do  his  duty,  and  that  duty  is  to  make  himself  a 
useful,  self-supporting,  public-spirited  citizen.  To 
this  end  it  offers  him  every  possible  aid. 

With  this  purpose  in  view,  the  disabled  man  is 
recommended  to  meet  and  confer  with  the  "  vocational 
adviser,"  the  accredited  agent  and  representative  of 
the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education.  An 
adviser  is  attached  to  each  hospital  in  which  men  are 
convalescing,  in  the  larger  hospital  centers,  and 
each  branch  office  of  the  Federal  Board  has  several 
advisers  on  its  staff.  The  vocational  advisers  are 
charged  with  the  duty  of  advising  with  the  men  who 
may  be  subjects  for  vocational  reeducation,  as  well  as 
with  the  military  officials  and  the  surgeons,  in  regard 
to  the  future  welfare  and  the  preliminary  vocational 
training  of  the  injured  men. 

The  vocational  advisers  are,  in  the  main,  civilians. 
214 


THE  CHOICE  OF  AN  OCCUPATION 

Their  function  is  to  assist  each  man  to  get  back  into 
civil  life  to  the  best  advantage  to  himself  and  his 
future  as  a  citizen.  When  men  of  the  right  qualifica- 
tions who  have  served  in  the  ranks  and  are  them- 
selves disabled  are  found,  they  are  employed  as  voca- 
tional advisers,  but  at  the  start  civilians  exclusively 
had  to  be  employed.  It  is  felt  by  the  Board  that  a 
man  who  has  himself  served  with  the  colors  and  been 
wounded  will  probably  be  able  to  get  closer  to  the 
disabled  men  than  one  who  knows  nothing  of  army 
life;  hence,  ex-soldiers  of  the  right  type  who  can 
qualify  are  given  preference  for  these  places. 

The  work  requires  rather  an  exceptional  type  of 
man,  full  of  human  sympathy  and  understanding,  of 
infinite  patience  and  tact,  big-hearted  and  frank, 
always  ready  to  see  the  other  fellow's  point  of  view, 
and  genuinely  anxious  to  be  of  service  to  the  disabled 
man  seeking  his  advice.  He  must  be  a  keen  judge 
of  human  nature,  with  some  successful  experience  in 
handling  men.  He  must  have  a  wide  range  of  know- 
ledge regarding  trades  and  occupations,  their  require- 
ments, opportunities,  disadvantages  as  well  as  advan- 
tages. He  must  be  of  a  type  the  wounded  will  in- 
stinctively desire  to  confide  in,  talk  to  in  man-to-man 
fashion,  and  one  whose  ability  and  knowledge  will 
inspire  respect  for  their  genuineness.  It  is  a  pretty 
hard  job  to  qualify  for,  and  not  one  man  in  a  thou- 
sand can  qualify.  But  there  are  men  of  this  type, 
and  the  Federal  Board  is  seeking  them  out  for  its 
service.  If  one  is  found  among  former  army  men,  so 
much  the  better. 

"When  it  has  been  determined  by  the  medical  and 
surgical  authorities  that  a  man  has  received  such  in- 

215 


[REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

juries  that  he  must  be  discharged  from  the  service  and 
that  it  is  unlikely  that  he  can  return  to  his  pre-war 
occupation,  the  vocational  adviser  has  a  talk  with  him. 
In  this  preliminary  conference  the  adviser  endeavors 
to  get  the  man  to  see  the  advantage  of  taking  the  re- 
education the  Government  provides  for  him.  If  the 
patient  is  interested,  data  of  his  education,  previous 
trade  or  calling,  experience,  likes  and  dislikes  in  the 
matter  of  work,  and  preference  in  regard  to  a  new 
trade  or  occupation  for  reeducation  are  recorded,  and 
the  vocational  adviser  seeks  a  medical  estimate  of  the 
case. 

The  medical  men,  having  gone  over  the  patient 
thoroughly,  are  in  a  position  to  report  upon  his  limita- 
tions, the  things,  from  a  medical  and  health  point  of 
view,  he  should  not  do.  For  instance,  if  the  man  has 
been  gassed  and  his  heart  affected,  the  doctors  may 
report  that  he  should  not  enter  an  occupation  involv- 
ing heavy  strains;  or,  if  he  has  contracted  severe 
rheumatism  from  exposure  in  the  trenches,  that  he 
should  choose  a  sheltered  occupation  in  which  he 
would  not  be  exposed  to  dampness  and  cold.  If  his 
lungs  have  been  weakened,  he  should  be  out  of  doors, 
or  if  he  has  traces  of  epilepsy,  he  should  by  no  means 
be  allowed  around  swiftly  moving  and  dangerous  ma- 
chinery, or  on  tall  buildings  from  which  he  might  fall 
in  an  attack  of  dizziness.  The  vocational  adviser, 
with  such  a  report  as  a  guide,  knows  definitely  what 
occupations  his  subject  cannot  enter,  and,  conversely, 
he  can  also  tell  fairly  well  what  occupations  the  man 
can  be  trained  for  and  follow  without  injury  to  his 
health. 

Next  the  vocational  adviser  and  the  man  go  over 
216 


THE  CHOICE  OF  AN  OCCUPATION 

the  subject  again  in  a  cordial,  mutually  helpful 
fashion.  It  may  be  that  the  first  choice  of  the  dis- 
abled man  of  an  occupation  to  train  for  has  been 
vetoed  by  his  physical  condition  and  another  choice 
must  be  made.  The  vocational  adviser  is  there  to 
aid  the  man  with  his  expert  knowledge.  The  primary 
endeavor  is  to  fit  the  individual  man  for  the  job  for 
which  his  inclination  and  capacity  seem  to  indicate 
the  strongest  probability  of  success,  scientifically  ad- 
justed to  the  likelihood  of  there  being  a  demand  for 
his  services  in  the  line  of  work  selected.  The  whole 
range  of  occupations,  trades  and  professions  suited  to 
the  abilities  of  the  disabled  man  are  canvassed  in  the 
effort  to  decide  upon  something  appropriate  for  him 
to  train  for,  something  that  he  can  do  well,  that  affords 
good  prospects  of  steady  employment,  and  that  he 
wants  to  do. 

This  last  is  one  of  the  main  points  —  getting  the 
man  into  something  in  which  he  is  really  interested. 
"Whenever  possible,  he  is  induced  to  go  into  some 
specialized  branch  of  the  trade  or  occupation  he  al- 
ready knows,  so  as  not  to  lose  the  knowledge  he  has 
gained  by  experience,  which  is  the  most  valuable  sort 
of  trade  knowledge.  That  equipment  is  built  upon 
and  capitalized,  and  perhaps  made  of  more  value  to 
the  man  than  it  ever  was  before.  If  the  disabled  man 
has  any  experience  in  an  occupation,  he  is  vastly  more 
fortunate  than  those  who  have  not.  If  he  has  had  no 
experience,  then  the  task  is  to  fit  him  into  some  occu- 
pation he  is  adapted  for,  has  a  liking  for,  and  is 
earnestly  impressed  with  as  being  desirable  to  follow 
for  a  livelihood. 

If,  for  instance,  the  disabled  man  has  been  a 
217 


EEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

farmer,  likes  farm  life,  and  prefers  to  return  to  it  if 
he  can,  the  question  is  to  decide  where  he  will  fit  in. 
Usually  farm  work  requires  considerable  strength  and 
agility  —  and  suppose  the  man  has  lost  a  leg.  It 
may  be  that  to  train  him  as  a  farm-tractor  and  farm- 
machinery  operator  is  the  very  thing  for  him.  With 
a  tractor  he  can  plow  and  harrow  his  own  land  and 
that  of  the  neighborhood.  In  these  times  of  shortage 
of  help,  farmers  are  turning  more  and  more  to 
mechanical  assistance,  and  there  is  a  growing  tendency 
to  have  the  plowing,  harrowing,  reaping  and  thresh- 
ing done  by  contract  with  labor-saving  machinery. 
As  a  tractor  operator  the  disabled  man  could  also 
take  on  a  contract  for  the  upkeep  of  a  stretch  of 
country  roads  by  using  a  scraper  and  roller  on  them 
with  his  tractor  as  motive  power.  He  could  buy  a 
threshing  outfit,  and  haul  it  from  place  to  place  and 
operate  it  with  power  from  his  tractor.  He  could 
use  his  tractor  to  cut  silage  for  farmers,  operate  well- 
boring  machinery  or  a  small  portable  sawmill,  and 
so  on.  Some  tractor  men  in  Canada  have  found  it 
a  most  remunerative  occupation.  Thus  the  man's 
knowledge  of  farming  conditions  and  rural  life  is 
utilized  in  a  practical  way  in  his  reeducation.  It 
would  be  foolish  in  the  extreme  to  try  to  make  out  of 
such  a  man  a  salesman  or  a  dentist,  a  lawyer  or  an 
accountant. 

As  another  illustration,  we  may  refer  again  to  the 
case  of  a  structural  iron  worker  who  has,  let  us  say, 
a  stiff  knee,  and  no  longer  possesses  the  agility  re- 
quired to  clamber  around  the  skeletons  of  skyscrapers 
or  the  framework  of  bridges.  The  obviously  sensi- 
ble thing  is  to  make  use  of  his  trade  knowledge  in  re- 

218 


THE  CHOICE  OF  AN  OCCUPATION 

educating  him.  It  would  be  folly  to  discard  his  ex- 
perience and  practical  knowledge  and  train  him  as  a 
veterinary  or  a  mail  clerk  or  a  cabinetmaker.  He 
should  be  prime  material  to  be  fashioned  into  an  in- 
spector of  structural-steel  construction,  a  foreman  for 
steel  works,  an  architect  or  draftsman  specializing  in 
work  involving  structural  steel,  a  contractor's  as- 
sistant, or  an  office  man  or  yard  superintendent  in 
works  manufacturing  steel  shapes.  He  would  make 
an  admirable  construction  man  with  a  bridge  works, 
an  estimator  on  contracts,  a  salesman,  and  possibly  in 
some  other  positions  his  practical  knowledge  would 
count  heavily  in  his  favor  and  give  him  a  distinct 
advantage  in  going  forward  to  success. 

The  same  principle  applies  all  along  the  line  in 
several  hundred  occupations,  trades,  professions  and 
callings.  In  no  case  is  previous  valuable  experience 
thrown  on  the  rubbish  heap  unless  there  are  over- 
whelmingly good  reasons  for  discarding  it.  There 
are  some  cases  in  which  it  is  expedient  to  abandon  a 
former  general  line  of  work,  but  in  the  main  the 
former  vocation  will  be  developed  and  specialized. 
It  is  rather  a  trait  of  human  nature  to  believe  that 
some  other  occupation  is  better  and  offers  more  oppor- 
tunities than  the  one  engaged  in.  It  is  the  duty  of 
the  vocational  adviser  to  disabuse  the  minds  of  his 
subjects  of  such  notions  unless  they  are  well  founded, 
and  to  endeavor  to  make  them  see  that  in  their  trade 
knowledge  they  have  a  valuable  capital  which  they 
can  turn  to  good  account. 

It  is  the  function  of  the  vocational  adviser  to  ex- 
plain all  these  matters  to  the  wounded  man,  to  ascer- 
tain what  he  is  best  qualified  for,  and  then  to  get  the 

219 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

man  to  see  it  for  himself  and  heartily  acquiesce  in  the 
choice.  However,  if  the  disabled  man  positively  will 
not  make  use  of  his  valuable  capital  of  knowledge  or 
experience  and  has  his  mind  and  heart  set  on  trying 
some  other  line  of  endeavor,  he  will  be  allowed  to  do 
so,  unless  it  is  clearly  preposterous  and  a  waste  of 
time  and  money  to  endeavor  to  fit  him  for  it. 

In  the  case  of  the  man  who  has  never  acquired  any 
particular  skill  or  knowledge  or  trade,  or  of  the  youth 
who  had  just  begun  at  a  soda  fountain  or  as  clerk 
or  in  farm  work,  the  problem  is  more  difficult  of  solu- 
tion, but  in  its  general  aspects  it  is  the  same.  Per- 
haps the  wife  or  mother  or  sister  of  the  soldier  is 
consulted.  The  object  is  to  start  him  at  something 
he  has  a  taste  for,  along  the  line  of  his  likings  and 
manifest  abilities.  When  that  has  been  done  and  a 
wise  selection  made,  the  most  difficult  problem  of 
retraining  has  been  met  and  overcome. 

When  the  man  finally  decides  upon  what  he  wants 
to  do,  and  his  choice  is  approved  by  the  vocational 
adviser,  he  should  be  given  another  medical  survey 
with  a  view  to  the  risks  and  incidence  of  that  par- 
ticular trade  or  occupation.  If  it  is  approved  by  the 
medical  men,  the  student  has  the  comforting  assur- 
ance as  a  fundamental  that  it  is  perfectly  safe  for 
him  to  engage  in  it  and  that  his  health  will  not  be  in 
the  least  jeopardized  or  affected  thereby. 


220 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE   TRAINING  ADAPTED   TO  INDIVIDUAL   NEEDS 

The  process  of  reeducation  a  civilian  function  —  The  sense  of 
individual  responsibility  and  initiative  atrophied  in  mili- 
tary service  —  Its  stimulation  a  primary  purpose  —  Voca- 
cational  rehabilitation  an  individual  problem  —  Institu- 
tional facilities  open  to  the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational 
Education  —  Practical  workshop  classes  a  concentrated 
apprenticeship  —  Wide  range  of  occupations  and  courses 
available  —  Assistance  to  complete  interrupted  college 
courses  —  Illiteracy  in  the  draft  —  Disabled  illiterates  to 
receive  a  fundamental  education  —  Vocational  instruction 
given  in  small  groups. 

When  the  disabled  man  finally  passes  out  of  the 
hospital  and  the  curative  workshop,  when  all  has  been 
done  for  him  physically  and  mentally  that  medical  or 
surgical  science  can  afford,  he  is  discharged  from  the 
Army  or  the  Navy.  He  is  thenceforth  a  civilian, 
being  reeducated  for  civilian  life  and  responsibilities 
through  the  medium  of  a  civilian  agency. 

There  was  a  definite  purpose  in  thus  cutting  the 
bonds  that  attach  the  man  to  military  life.  In  the 
service  he  has  been  subject  to  authority  every  moment 
of  his  time.  Initiative  and  individual  responsibility 
have  necessarily  been  submerged  in  the  mass.  His 
every  act  has  been  regulated  according  to  a  schedule 
in  which  his  part  is  only  to  follow  and  obey.  He  has 
given  no  thought,  nor  has  he  had  any  choice,  as  to 
where  and  when  and  what  to  eat,  or  what  to  wear,  or 
how  to  employ  his  time.  In  a  short  while  he  has 
become,  in  large  measure,  dependent  upon  having  his 
existence  arranged  and  ordered  for  him.  It  is  sur- 

221 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

prising  how  soon  a  man  becomes  dependent  upon  con- 
ditions of  this  sort,  and  how  slow  his  readjustment  is 
when  he  is  again  "on  his  own."  It  is  best  that  his 
dormant  sense  of  responsibility  and  initiative  be  stim- 
ulated from  the  start  as  an  invaluable  asset  for  his 
reentrance  into  civil  life,  in  which  these  two  qualities 
or  their  absence  count  for  so  much  as  a  help  or  as  a 
deterent  to  the  individual.  Hence,  Congress  wisely 
decided  that  for  the  good  of  the  man  himself,  the  work 
of  vocational  reeducation  should  be  a  purely  civilian 
function.  The  only  discipline  to  which  the  student  is 
subjected  is  the  loss  of  his  pay  should  he  wilfully 
neglect  his  studies  or  fail  to  exercise  reasonable  dili- 
gence in  pursuing  his  course,  with  the  ultimate  with- 
drawal of  the  privilege  of  reeducation  when  he  is 
obviously  not  interested  and  is  making  no  effort  to 
progress. 

In  no  other  line  of  instruction  as  in  the  retraining 
of  the  disabled  is  the  necessity  so  great  for  individual 
attention  to  the  student.  The  men  cannot  be  grouped 
into  broad  divisions  or  classifications,  either  by  inju- 
ries or  by  trades.  It  cannot  be  said  that  this,  that,  or 
the  other  is  a  proper  occupation  for  a  one-armed  man 
or  a  one-legged  man  or  a  tuberculous  man.  It  may 
be  a  trade  suitable  for  a  one-armed  man,  but  is  the 
man  suited  to  the  occupation?  Is  the  loss  of  an  arm 
the  whole  of  his  disability?  Has  he  any  previous 
experience  in  that  or  an  allied  calling?  Is  there  a 
demand  for  such  workmen,  or  opportunities  in  such  a 
trade  near  where  he  lives  and  has  his  savings,  his 
home,  his  acquaintances,  friends  and  relatives?  And 
finally,  most  important  of  all,  does  the  man  himself 
want  to  take  up  that  occupation,  and  is  he  interested 

222 


TRAINING  ADAPTED  TO  INDIVIDUALS 

in  that  method  of  making  a  living?  For,  unless  he  is 
interested  in  it,  believes  in  it  and  its  worth,  and  ear- 
nestly wants  to  utilize  it  as  a  means  of  livelihood,  it 
is  worse  than  useless  to  expend  the  time,  money  and 
effort  in  endeavoring  to  fit  him  for  it.  Hence,  the 
problem  obviously  resolves  itself  into  one  of  individual 
treatment  from  the  very  beginning,  with  many  differ- 
ent angles  and  phases  to  be  considered.  Hence,  also, 
the  instruction  must  be  along  individual  lines  if 
proper  results  are  to  be  had. 

After  the  man  has  consulted  with  the  vocational 
adviser  in  the  hospitals  and  has  determined  for  what 
he  wants  to  be  reeducated,  and  the  medical  authorities 
have  approved  his  choice  from  the  standpoint  of  his 
physical  abilities  and  future  physical  welfare,  and 
after  he  has  left  the  curative  workshop,  the  Federal 
Board  for  Vocational  Education  automatically  takes 
charge  of  his  education  and  the  real  course  of  training 
begins.  This  education  is  not  being  administered  in 
large  cantonments,  camps  or  specially  created  institu- 
tions or  workshop  hospitals,  with  an  exception  per- 
haps in  the  case  of  tuberculous  patients,  who  must 
have  certain  special  conditions  for  continuous  treat- 
ment while  engaged  in  qualifying,  so  that  they  build 
health  at  the  same  time  as  they  receive  instruction. 
There  is  a  wealth  of  institutional  material  available  in 
the  country  which  has  the  equipment  and  facilities  to 
give  almost  any  instruction  called  for  in  practical 
lines.  Nearly  all  of  the  states  have  "land-grant  col- 
leges," better  known  as  "colleges  of  agriculture  and 
the  mechanic  arts,"  where  the  whole  range  of  agri- 
culture, dairying  and  its  branches,  stock  raising,  poul- 
try raising,  bee-keeping,  small-fruit  growing,  truck 

223 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

farming,  market  gardening,  the  florist's  and  garden- 
er's occupations,  and  the  like  may  be  learned  thor- 
oughly and  practically.  Many  of  these  institutions 
also  have  mechanical  equipment  enabling  them  to 
instruct  in  various  lines,  such  as  farm-machinery 
operation,  care  and  repair,  the  machinist's  trade, 
woodworking  in  its  various  branches,  textiles  and  its 
branches;  and  a  few  of  them  have  more  elaborate 
facilities  for  instruction  in  trades  and  in  industrial 
occupations.  There  are  also  at  various  points  trade 
schools  and  technological  institutions  of  high  grade, 
in  which  the  whole  of  education  under  these  heads  is 
covered.  There  are  also  other  excellent  schools  and 
colleges  teaching  more  specialized  callings. 

A  programme  was  formulated  by  the  Federal 
Board  to  give  even  more  practical  instruction  than 
that  outlined  above.  Classes  in  certain  industries  are 
arranged  and  put  in  works  under  the  tuition  of  highly 
skilled  operatives  and  teachers.  The  result  is  a  sort 
of  concentrated  and  scientific  apprenticeship  by  which 
the  students  accomplish  in  a  term  of  months  that 
which  in  ordinary  circumstances  requires  an  appren- 
ticeship of  several  years.  Having  qualified  as  a  com- 
petent man  in  the  subject  of  his  training,  the  student 
makes  the  transition  from  the  status  of  learner  to  that 
of  worker  in  familiar  surroundings  and  in  a  trade  in 
which  he  has  received  instruction  from  experts  who 
make  their  living  by  that  trade.  The  merely  theoret- 
ical teacher  is  barred.  He  must  not  only  be  able  to 
tell  how  a  thing  or  a  process  is  done,  but  he  must  be 
able  to  do  it. 

The  impression  must  not  be  gained  that  the  educa- 
tion furnished  by  the  Federal  Board  is  necessarily  in 

224 


TRAINING  ADAPTED  TO  INDIVIDUALS 

trades  alone  or  in  manual  work:  or  the  like,  for  such  is 
by  no  means  the  case.  A  large  proportion  of  the  sub- 
jects for  vocational  reeducation  are  men  who  can  only 
follow  an  occupation  under  very  especial  conditions. 
Such,  for  instance,  are  men  with  arrested  cases  of 
tuberculosis.  Men  thus  afflicted  must  have  an  out-of- 
doors  life,  with  a  maximum  of  fresh  air  and  sunshine 
and  a  minimum  of  exertion.  They  will  perhaps  be 
given  courses  in  poultry  raising  —  real  scientific  train- 
ing by  men  who  have  made  commercial  successes  on 
their  own  account.  The  instruction  is  given  possibly 
upon  a  poultry  farm,  arrangements  having  been  made 
to  that  end  by  the  Federal  Board.  Or  the  student 
may  desire  to  take  up  market  gardening  or  truck 
farming,  or  the  growing  of  flowers,  plants  and  bulbs 
in  the  open  for  sale  to  dealers  and  the  trade  generally ; 
or  he  may  fancy  growing  violets  and  other  such  plants 
under  glass ;  or  he  may  want  to  take  a  course  in  civil 
engineering  or  forestry,  or  as  an  orchardist,  or  in 
cattle  raising.  All  of  these  occupations,  and  many 
others,  are  at  his  disposal  to  make  a  choice  from.  The 
number  of  courses  available  approaches  the  400  mark. 
An  examination  of  the  first  159  cases  approved  for 
training  by  the  Federal  Board  is  most  interesting. 
There  are  63  different  trades  represented  in  this  num- 
ber of  cases.  The  most  numerous  class  is  that  of 
agriculture  and  allied  occupations  or  specializations  — 
25;  the  next  is  commercial  education,  with  general 
business  education  following  a  close  third.  The  elec- 
tions of  the  159  cases  are  divided  as  follows : 

Academic 1 

Accountancy 6 

Agriculture 18 

225 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

Animal  husbandry 2 

Architecture 1 

Automobile  driving  and  mechanics 3 

Banking 1 

Bookkeeping 3 

Bookkeeping  and  farm  production 1 

Bookkeeping  and  office  management 1 

Building  construction 1 

Business  course,  general 12 

Chemist 1 

Civil  engineering 2 

Commercial 19 

Dairying,  scientific 2 

Drafting 1 

Electrical  course,  general 4 

Electrical  drafting 1 

Electrical  engineering 3 

Electrical  plant  operation 1 

Embalming 1 

Engine  designing  and  drafting 1 

Exporting 1 

Farm  management 1 

General  education 1 

Jeweler 1 

Jewelry  and  watch  repairing 1 

Law 4 

Lip  reading 3 

Lip  reading  and  bacteriology 1 

Machine  operator 1 

Machinist 1 

Marine  gas-engine  operation 1 

Meat  inspection 2 

Mechanical  drafting 1 

Mechanical  engineer 4 

Mechanics  and  shop  practice 4 

Medicine 2 

Milk  inspection 1 

Monotype  operator 1 

Motor  mechanics 11 

Normal  teacher 1 

Normal  training 1 

Oxy-acetylene  welding 1 

Penmanship 1 

Poultry  and  swine  raising 1 

Poultry  raising 1 

Salesmanship 2 

Secretarial  course 3 

Sheet-metal  designing 1 

Show-card  writing  and  painting 2 

226 


TKAINING  ADAPTED  TO  INDIVIDUALS 

Silversmithing  and  designing 1 

Special  gas-engine  course 1 

Stationary  steam  engineer 1 

Steam  engineering 1 

Store  management 1 

Tailoring 1 

Telegraphy 3 

Telegraphy  and  business  course 2 

Tool  and  instrument  making 2 

Traffic  management 1 

Window  dressing  and  designing 1 

As  evidence  that  the  disabled  men  are  being  placed 
in  the  best  institutions  available,  these  first  159  men 
were  distributed  among  the  following,  some,  however, 
being  placed  directly  in  trades  or  industry  for  instruc- 
tion: 

Alabama  Polytechnic  Institute 
American  Institute  of  Banking 
Amherst  College 
Baltimore  Business  College 
Boston  University  Law  School 
Bryant  and  Stratton  Business  Colleges 
Burdette  Business  College 
Clemson  College 
Colorado  University 
Columbia  University 
David  Ranken  Trade  School 
Dunwoody  Institute 
Filene's  Department  Store 
Franklin  Union  College 
George  Washington  University 
Hampton  Institute 
Harvard  Law  School 
Harvard  University 
Hawley  School  of  Engineering 
Howard  University 
Indiana  State  Normal  College 
Lehigh  University 

Maryland  State  Agricultural  College 
227 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

Maryland  University 

Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology 

Michigan  State  Agricultural  College 

Mississippi  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College 

New  York  School  of  Commerce 

North  Carolina  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College 

Ohio  State  University 

Pratt  Institute 

Purdue  University 

Soule  Business  College 

Strayers'  Business  College 

Tennessee  State  Agricultural  College 

Tulane  University 

Tuskegee  Institute 

University  of  California 

University  of  Illinois 

University  of  Michigan 

University  of  Nebraska 

University  of  Nevada 

University  of  Tennessee 

University  of  Texas 

Virginia  Polytechnic 

In  the  case  of  the  young  man  who  has  not  yet  fin- 
ished his  education,  he  may  without  disappointment 
expect  the  Federal  Board  to  assist  him.  If  in  the 
course  he  was  pursuing  when  he  forsook  his  studies  for 
military  duty,  he  was  qualifying  for  a  profession 
which  might  reasonably  be  expected  to  yield  him  a 
livelihood,  and  he  was  well  started  therein,  he  can 
look  to  the  Federal  Board  to  help  him  to  finish  it. 
That  is,  he  may  expect  help  within  reason.  Again  it  is 
an  individual  matter.  If  the  man  was  educating  him- 
self at  the  time  of  his  enlistment  or  draft  call,  was 
approaching  completion  of  his  studies,  and  thus  suf- 
fered his  financial  arrangements  to  be  disrupted  and 
perhaps  his  savings  used  up  in  the  support  of  depend- 

228 


TRAINING  ADAPTED  TO  INDIVIDUALS 

ents,  there  is  hardly  a  question  that  the  Federal  Board 
will  enable  him  to  complete  his  course  if  there  is 
reasonable  ground  to  believe  that  he  will  make  a 
success  in  his  chosen  profession.  Illustrative  of  this 
is  a  case  among  the  first  25  awarded  training  by  the 
Federal  Board.  This  young  man  was  in  his  sophomore 
year  at  a  well  known  technical  school  in  the  South 
when  the  draft  called  him  to  the  colors,  and  he  was 
manifesting  exceptional  ability  in  his  studies  to  be  a 
civil  engineer.  He  has  been  awarded  support  and 
maintenance  in  the  college  until  he  graduates,  and  is 
now  back  at  his  studies. 

The  draft  law,  aside  from  its  military  value  and 
necessity,  has  been  the  means  of  revealing  an  aston- 
ishing percentage  of  illiteracy  among  the  men  taken 
for  service.  By  this  means  the  attention  of  educa- 
tional authorities  has  been  directed  to  the  localities  in 
which  this  condition  exists  and  steps  are  being  taken 
to  remedy  it.  But  the  unfortunate  products  of  such 
an  environment,  who  from  lack  of  schools  or  through 
necessity  are  deficient  in  the  fundamentals  of  an  edu- 
cation, will  be  given  their  chance  also.  They  will  be 
taught  the  essentials  of  a  good  common-school  educa- 
tion, and  then,  when  this  foundation  has  been  pre- 
pared, they  will  be  given  further  and  specialized 
training  suited  to  their  needs  in  some  trade  or  calling 
in  which  they  are  best  fitted  to  make  a  success. 

In  assigning  men  to  various  approved  institutions, 
the  first  thought  is  to  send  each  man  to  an  institution 
as  close  to  his  home  as  possible.  The  wisdom  of  this 
plan  as  a  matter  of  economy,  as  well  as  of  educating 
each  man  where  the  greatest  amount  of  interest  will 
be  taken  in  him,  is  strikingly  shown  by  the  testimony 

229 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

of  Dr.  Prosser,  Director  of  the  Federal  Board,  before 
the  Joint  Committee  on  Education  and  Labor  of  House 
and  Senate  on  December  11,  1918,  the  Bankhead- 
Smith  bill  providing  for  the  vocational  rehabilitation 
of  the  disabled  of  industry  being  then  the  subject  be- 
fore the  session.  Dr.  Prosser,  detailing  the  progress 
made  by  the  Federal  Board  in  handling  the  reeduca- 
tion of  disabled  soldiers,  said  in  part : 

When  this  war  sloughed  off,  the  Federal  Board  did  not 
have  a  spade  in  the  ground,  or  a  pile  of  brick  or  a  sack 
of  cement  or  a  typewriter  being  used  for  instructional  pur- 
poses. We  made  up  our  minds  that  we  were  going  to 
use  the  facilities  of  this  country  in  schools  and  offices  and 
shops  and  farms  —  and  I  want  to  say  that  the  way  the 
people  of  this  country  of  all  classes  have  thrown  open 
their  resources  is  remarkable.  So,  we  did  not  need  that 
item  of  $350,000  for  equipment.  The  tuition  cost  we  are 
paying  is  practically  negligible. 

We  are  trying  to  educate  these  fellows  back  near  the 
folks  at  home  in  their  own  schools,  and  when  that  occurs 
and  we  go  to  the  threshold  of  the  state  and  submit  the 
matter  to  the  state  educational  officers  they  say :  "  We  do 
not  want  any  Government  money  whatever  for  these  fellows. 
They  are  our  own  sons.  Instead  of  asking  money  with 
which  to  educate  them,  we  owe  them  more  than  they  do 
anybody  and  we  want  to  do  more  for  them  than  we  have 
done  for  anybody."  So  we  cannot  spend  that  $445,000 
for  tuition  as  provided  in  the  Smith- Sear's  law. 

Care  will  be  taken  not  to  crowd  the  facilities  so  as  to 
interfere  with  thorough  training.  At  all  times  there 
will  be  a  sufficient  number  of  competent  instructors  to 
give  the  maximum  of  attention  to  each  man  who  is 
taking  a  course.  The  greatest  care  is  given  individuals 
in  developing  them  to  their  fullest  capacities.  The  aim 

230 


TRAINING  ADAPTED  TO  INDIVIDUALS 

is  to  utilize  the  remaining  capabilities  of  the  disabled 
man  to  the  maximum. 

Each  man,  therefore,  presents  a  different  problem. 
No  two  injuries  are  in  all  respects  similar;  no  two 
men  have  the  same  background  of  education,  experi- 
ence, trade  knowledge,  inclination  or  capacities  for 
absorbing  training.  This  necessitates  a  system  of 
instruction  in  which  small  groups  of  students  are 
handled.  By  reason  of  this  extra  care  and  attention, 
the  recipients  of  instruction  are  enabled  to  make 
progress  not  possible  when  classes  are  larger.  In  the 
latter  instance,  as  in  the  case  of  a  convoy  of  troop 
ships,  the  distance  covered  is  limited  by  the  speed  of 
the  slowest  vessel  in  the  fleet ;  but  with  what  amounts 
to  individual  instruction,  there  is  absolutely  no  check 
upon  individual  development  and  the  capacity  of  the 
individual  to  go  ahead. 


231 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE  PROBLEM  OF  PLACEMENT 

Placement  an  essential  part  of  the  restoration  programme  — 
Employers  protected  against  increased  casualty  insurance 
rates  —  Prejudice  against  employment  of  ' '  cripples ' ' — 
The  retrained  man  dependent  upon  no  special  favors  —  A 
Government  placement  agency  organized  —  Cooperation  of 
state,  local  and  private  agencies  —  A  survey  of  industrial 
opportunities  made  —  Attitude  and  education  of  the 
employers  —  The  period  of  probation  and  adjustment  — 
Work  the  acid  test  of  training  —  Eetraining  and  replace- 
ment of  misfits  —  Follow-up  work  after  placement  —  A 
square  deal  for  the  man  and  for  the  employer  —  The  atti- 
tude of  organized  labor. 

After  the  disabled  man  has  finished  the  course  of 
study,  training  or  education  that  he  has  chosen,  and 
is  pronounced  competent  to  engage  in  that  occupation 
as  a  worker,  utilizing  it  as  a  means  of  livelihood,  the 
next  step  is  to  find  a  position  for  him.  This  is  no 
less  a  part  of  the  Government 's  programme  for  voca- 
tional rehabilitation  than  the  training,  for  it  is  recog- 
nized that  there  still  persists  more  or  less  prejudice 
in  the  minds  of  the  generality  of  employers  against 
the  hiring  of  disabled  men,  and  this  must  first  be  over- 
come. Much  work  has  been  done  along  these  lines 
and  satisfactory  progress  has  been  made. 

The  employer  has  been  first  assured  that  the  casu- 
alty-insurance companies  will  not  increase  the  rate  on 
the  blanket  policy  carried  on  his  works  because  of  the 
employment  of  a  few  retrained  men  therein.  No  other 
country  has  experienced  a  rise  in  casualty  rates  for 
industrial  plants  on  this  account,  and  assurances  have 

232 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  PLACEMENT 

been  given  the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Educa- 
tion by  representatives  of  the  casualty  companies  that 
a  similar  policy  will  be  followed  in  this  country. 

The  next  step  was  to  convince  the  employers  that  a 
retrained  man  is  not  necessarily  a  man  deficient  in  his 
work.  In  the  case  of  a  process  requiring  only  manual 
dexterity,  it  is  obvious  that  the  presence  or  absence  of 
a  natural  leg  does  not  at  all  affect  the  operator's 
working  capacity.  The  whole  theory  of  retraining  is 
to  make  use  of  those  capacities  or  members  unimpaired 
by  the  experience  of  the  subject  in  army  life.  Not- 
withstanding all  this,  there  has  persisted  the  practice 
of  calling  men  "cripples"  when  they  are  not  in  fact 
crippled,  and  the  idea  that  the  employment  of  such 
men  was  a  condescension  has  been  exceedingly  diffi- 
cult to  combat  and  replace  with  the  correct  concep- 
tion. The  retrained  man,  in  the  majority  of  in- 
stances, can  do  as  good  work  in  the  line  for  which  he 
has  been  trained  as  any  other  man,  and  he  is  not 
asking  special  favors  or  special  consideration  in  any 
sense. 

In  placing  the  men  it  was  decided  that  the  efforts 
of  a  Government  agency  were  likely  to  be  more  effec- 
tive and  systematic  than  private  or  even  state  effort. 
These,  however,  can  be  utilized  most  advantageously 
as  aids  to  the  Government  placement  agencies.  They 
can  assist  greatly  in  helping  to  propagate  the  correct 
conception  of  the  disabled  or  retrained  man ;  they  can 
bring  the  influence  of  public  sentiment  to  bear  upon 
the  employers  of  labor  in  its  various  forms  and  per- 
suade them  to  agree  to  extend  to  these  men  the  oppor- 
tunity to  work  and  honestly  earn  their  living.  More- 
over, local  authorities  can  ascertain  local  conditions 

233 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

in  industries  and  assist  in  the  placement  of  each  man 
near  his  home,  where  he  will  not  be  among  strangers 
but  returned  among  his  former  friends,  associates  and 
community  interests.  In  every  case  an  effort  is  made 
to  find  employment  for  the  man  in  his  former  com- 
munity, and,  if  possible,  in  some  branch  of  the  in- 
dustry in  which  he  was  engaged  before  the  war. 

A  systematic  search  of  the  various  industries  of  the 
country,  for  the  purpose  of  listing  all  of  the  employ- 
ment opportunities  offered  in  which  retrained  men 
can  be  utilized,  has  been  in  progress  for  many  months. 
In  this  survey  the  United  States  Department  of  Labor 
has  directed,  and  it  has  cooperated  with  the  Federal 
Board  for  Vocational  Education  in  classifying  and 
cataloguing  the  results.  State  compensation  commis- 
sions and  labor  bureaus  have  rendered  hearty  assist- 
ance within  their  especial  territories,  and  in  the  main 
there  has  been  cordial  cooperation  by  the  press  and 
by  private  individuals.  The  result  has  been  the 
assembly  of  a  vast  amount  of  data  on  the  various 
industries  and  occupations  and  their  capacity  to 
absorb  the  men  who  have  been  reeducated  for  them. 
This  information  is  classified  and  immediately  avail- 
able for  use  to  the  fullest  extent  in  the  placement 
programme. 

Once  the  employers  clearly  understood  that  there 
was  nothing  of  a  charitable  nature  about  trying  the 
reeducated  men  or  giving  them  employment,  the  way 
was  easy.  Many  employers  did  not  understand. 
They  were  willing  to  contribute  money  for  the  dis- 
abled men,  willing  even  to  carry  them  on  their  pay- 
rolls in  some  capacities,  if  need  be,  as  open  and 
acknowledged  incompetents;  but  they  dreaded  the 

234 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  PLACEMENT 

disorganization  the  induction  of  supposed  incompe- 
tents or  superficially  trained  men  would  create  In 
their  plants.  After  the  employer  grasped  the  idea 
that  the  retrained  man  wanted  it  forgotten  that  an 
arm  or  a  leg  was  missing  or  other  injuries  existed,  and 
desired  that  his  rating  be  solely  upon  the  basis  of  the 
work  he  was  able  to  do  in  that  particular  factory  and 
not  upon  what  he  could  not  do  in  some  other  industry, 
the  way  was  made  much  easier  for  cooperation. 

In  the  main,  little  difficulty  was  experienced  in 
obtaining  a  hearty  consent  from  the  employing  pow- 
ers. To  give  the  retrained  man  a  chance  appealed  to 
them  as  a  fair,  sporting  proposition.  As  a  generality 
the  employers  became  enthusiasts  on  the  subject  of 
aiding  the  disabled  men  back  into  their  places  as 
workers  and  useful  members  of  the  civil  community, 
and  there  are  few  employers  in  the  country  today 
who  will  not  welcome  the  retrained  man  to  their 
works  and  give  him  as  square  a  deal  as  any  man 
should  want  or  expect.  With  rare  exceptions  the 
employer  will  greet  him  with  the  respect  the  ex- 
soldier  is  entitled  to — that  of  a  brave  man  who  has 
done  his  full  duty  by  his  country  in  time  of  war,  and 
who  now  desires  to  continue  to  do  his  duty  by  becom- 
ing a  useful,  busy,  employed  citizen  in  time  of  peace. 
Employers  in  the  main  have  been  willing  to  do  more, 
but  they  have  been  told  that  kindly  interest,  square 
treatment,  and  the  opportunity  for  the  retrained  man 
to  work  and  be  paid  a  fair  wage  for  fair  work  are  all 
that  is  asked. 

The  matter  of  placement  is  not  as  simple  as  it 
sounds,  for  it  involves  a  period  of  probation,  study 
and  adjustment  before  the  man  is  finally  assigned  to 

235 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

a  job  or  a  line  of  work  in  which  he  may  consider  him- 
self as  permanently  employed.  When  men  have  been 
given  training  in  shops  or  works  in  which  they  expect 
to  continue  as  employees,  the  process  is  easier  in  many 
respects,  and  less  time  is  required  to  get  each  man 
into  his  new  occupation  as  a  qualified  and  competent 
worker.  But  the  man  trained  otherwise,  both  for 
his  own  sake,  for  the  sake  of  the  reputation  of  the 
reeducated  men  generally,  and  for  the  satisfaction  of 
the  employer,  must  be  kept  under  supervision  for 
some  time.  Despite  all  efforts  to  make  his  training 
an  absolute  duplicate  of  the  work  to  be  done  later 
commercially,  it  is  not  wholly  successful  in  all  essen- 
tials, and  there  must  necessarily  be  a  period  of  ad- 
justment in  the  actual  industry  and  at  the  commer- 
cial work. 

It  is  the  policy  of  the  Federal  Board  to  keep  in  close 
touch  with  the  probationers  during  this  critical  and 
transitory  stage  through  which  nearly  all  of  the  re- 
trained men  must  inevitably  pass.  Experts  in  the 
lines  for  which  the  men  have  been  reeducated  will  be 
in  constant  touch  with  them,  encouraging  them,  cor- 
recting methods  when  necessary,  and  generally  as- 
sisting to  fit  them  into  actual  working  conditions  in 
such  a  way  as  to  insure  their  successful  pursuit  of 
their  chosen  trades  or  occupations.  When  the  new 
man  acquires  a  sufficiency  of  self-confidence  and  be- 
gins to  forge  ahead,  the  supervision  is  gradually 
relaxed  until  it  is  evident  that  he  is  a  full-fledged, 
competent  workman  and  can  make  his  own  way 
without  help. 

Work  is  the  acid  test  of  training,  which  in  itself 
may  have  been  excellently  well  conceived  and  exe- 

236 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  PLACEMENT 

cuted,  and  yet  may  prove  in  individual  cases,  when 
subjected  to  the  test  in  factory,  shop  or  office,  to  have 
been  inadequate  or  even  misdirected.  Under  the 
first  strain  of  sustained  regular  labor  the  well  trained 
man  may  develop  unsuspected  weaknesses.  Latent 
and  deferred  disabilities,  mental  and  physical,  may  be 
uncovered,  and  provision  must  be  made  for  these  de- 
velopments, as  well  as  for  breakdowns,  relapses  and 
recurrences  of  old  troubles  after  apparently  complete 
convalescence.  Moreover,  it  is  naturally  improbable, 
even  with  the  most  systematic,  scientific,  painstaking 
and  searching  survey  of  each  man's  vocational  ca- 
pacities upon  initiation  of  his  training,  that  precisely 
the  right  sort  of  training  will  be  determined  upon 
and  given  to  every  man  for  precisely  the  right  sort 
of  occupation,  taking  account  of  each  man's  educa- 
tion, experience,  disabilities  and  preferences,  on  the 
one  hand,  and,  on  the  other,  of  openings  for  perma- 
nent employment  in  the  chosen  occupation  in  the  home 
community  to  which  the  trained  man  will  eventually 
return. 

Training  for  a  given  occupation  is  a  comparatively 
simple  matter.  It  is  not  the  training  itself  that  is 
difficult,  but  rather  the  election  of  that  single  line  of 
training  which  is  best  adapted  to  the  man 's  capacities 
and  preferences,  and  which  will  most  completely  avoid 
his  special  handicaps.  For  any  one  of  hundreds  of 
occupations,  schemes  of  training  have  already  been 
perfected,  and  teachers  entirely  competent  to  conduct 
the  training  effectively  are  available.  None  of  the 
problems  of  training  is  in  itself  difficult  or  unsolved, 
although,  of  course,  the  methods  of  instruction  must 
be  somewhat  modified  and  adapted  to  the  require- 

237 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

ments  and  characteristic  mental  attitudes  of  the  war 
disabled,  who  were  men  before  they  went  overseas  and 
who  will  return  matured  beyond  their  years  by  the 
hardships  and  fierce  discipline  of  the  war.  They  will 
not  be  children,  and  except  in  the  first  stages  of  con- 
valescence and  as  means  of  diversion  and  amusement, 
they  will  not  take  kindly  to  raffia  and  bead  work,  em- 
broidering and  playing  with  picture  puzzles,  or  to 
kindergarten  methods  of  instruction.  They  will  be  in 
many  cases  difficult  of  approach,  impatient  of  re- 
straint, mentally  isolated  from  civilians  by  their  ex- 
perience in  the  trenches,  and  possibly  indisposed  to 
respond  frankly  to  the  first  appeals  that  may  be  made 
to  them.  They  will  naturally  be  separate  and  re- 
served, if  not  hardened  and  resistent.  Absorbed  in 
the  contemplation  of  their  own  recent  experiences, 
and  incapable  of  communicating  these  experiences  to 
others,  they  may  be  mute  and  silent  in  all  other  mat- 
ters as  well,  which  for  the  time  being  may  naturally 
appear  to  them  to  be  in  comparison  trivial.  They 
will  be  serious-minded,  quick  in  the  detection  of 
schemes,  and  uncompromising  in  the  condemnation  of 
amateurish  trivialities.  They  will  apply  to  others  the 
standards  and  exacting  tests  by  which  they  them- 
selves have  been  valued  in  the  service  "over  there." 

For  the  newly  returned,  seriously  disabled,  mentally 
alienated,  detached  and  possibly  despondent  man,  the 
awakening  of  normal  interests  in  civilian  life  may  be 
gradual  and  long  deferred.  He  may  be  temporarily 
indifferent  in  the  matter  of  selecting  an  occupation. 
Such  training  as  is  proposed  he  may  formally  approve 
and  enter  upon  without  careful  consideration  of 
future  requirements  and  opportunities  or  frank  dis- 

238 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  PLACEMENT 

closure  of  natural  aptitudes.  It  is  quite  conceivable 
also  that  a  man  may  honestly  believe  that  he  wants  to 
train  for  a  certain  trade,  and  find  after  he  gets  into 
it  that  he  has  made  a  mistake  and  cannot  make  a 
living  at  it.  Under  these  conditions  in  some  propor- 
tion of  the  thousands  entering  upon  training  the 
wrong  occupation  is  certain  to  be  elected,  and  in  every 
case  the  final  test  of  the  election  must  be  made  in  the 
workshop,  factory  or  office,  or  on  the  farm,  in  the 
man's  home  community,  and  after  graduation  from 
the  prescribed  course  of  training. 

Whenever  the  work  test  develops  deficiencies  in 
training,  the  disabled  man  may  return  to  the  Federal 
Board  for  such  additional  training  as  he  may  require. 
In  the  case  of  the  obvious  misfits  the  way  is  kept  open 
for  remedying  the  original  error  and  for  entering 
upon  a  new  and  suitable  course  of  instruction.  But 
it  is  manifest  that  there  must  be  overwhelmingly  good 
reason  for  such  a  course ;  otherwise  the  small  propor- 
tion of  those  who  lack  stability,  or  who  desire  to 
change  jobs  merely  for  the  sake  of  change,  or  who 
acquire  a  dislike  for  their  work,  would  take  advantage 
of  this  possibility,  and  not  do  as  good  work  as  they  are 
capable  of  in  training  in  the  first  instance,  or  apply 
themselves  with  proper  resolution  to  their  trades  after 
they  have  been  placed.  It  is  only  the  exceptional 
man  and  the  exceptional  set  of  circumstances  that 
will  obtain  a  retraining  and  replacement. 

Follow-up  work  after  placement  is  necessary  also 
to  insure  fair  treatment  of  the  retrained  man  and 
suitable  conditions  of  employment,  particularly  in 
regard  to  physical  welfare,  wages  and  hours  of  labor. 
This  supervision  will  see  that  he  is  getting  a  square 

239 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

deal  from  the  employer,  for,  although  most  employers 
would  scorn  to  take  advantage  of  or  exploit  any  man, 
much  less  a  disabled  one,  there  are  undoubtedly  a  few 
who  would  not  hesitate  to  do  so.  These  will  be  at- 
tended to  with  an  iron  hand.  Conversely,  the  super- 
vision will  include  the  part  the  man  himself  is  playing 
toward  his  employer.  The  insistence  upon  a  square 
deal  on  the  part  of  the  disabled  man  will  be  no  less 
strong  than  on  the  part  of  the  man  whose  wages  he 
is  taking.  There  should  be  no  presuming  upon  his 
military  service  or  upon  his  disability.  Undoubtedly 
there  will  be  some  men  of  the  presuming  sort  among 
the  thousands  trained  and  placed,  but  such  a  slacker 
will  be  found  to  be  the  great  exception.  When  a  case 
of  the  kind  is  found,  the  matter  is  readily  adjusted. 
The  man  is  shamed  into  abandonment  of  his  unworthy 
part,  and  made  to  see  that  for  a  soldier  who  asked  no 
favors  of  the  Hun  and  who  did  his  duty  on  the  battle- 
field, he  is  not  ' '  carrying  on. ' ' 

The  programme  of  placement  and  follow-up  work 
has  definite  ends  and  aims,  and  does  not  embrace 
among  these  the  coddling  of  the  disabled.  It  pro- 
poses only  to  enforce  a  square  deal  in  each  individual 
case  and  to  neutralize  unfavorable  and  varying  trade 
and  industrial  conditions.  A  square  deal  implies  full 
efficiency  on  the  part  of  the  worker,  and  equally  on 
the  part  of  his  employer  full  recognition  of  that 
efficiency.  The  disabled  man  made  100  per  cent, 
efficient  is  not  to  be  employed  on  the  basis  of  50  or 
75  or  even  90  per  cent,  efficiency,  and  paid  50,  75,  or 
90  per  cent,  of  the  wage  which  he  earns  in  full. 
Wage  adjustments,  when  these  are  necessary  to  cover 
irreducible  deficiencies,  will  be  made  under  special 

240 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  PLACEMENT 

agreements  with  employers  and  with  trade  unions  in 
organized  trades.  The  formulation  and  enforcement 
of  these  agreements  constitutes  an  important  phase  of 
placement  work  and  of  supervision  after  placement. 

It  may  be  difficult  in  the  early  stages  of  retraining 
to  develop  in  the  disabled  man  a  spirit  of  determina- 
tion to  win  out  against  any  sort  of  handicap ;  difficult 
to  arouse  again  those  ambitions  which  in  the  natural 
reaction  upon  his  shattered  condition  he  has  aban- 
doned in  the  first  days  of  his  disability  or  during  pro- 
tracted convalescence;  difficult  to  reestablish  those 
normal  interests  which  must  inspire  his  efforts  if  he 
is  to  achieve  efficiency  and  through  efficiency  inde- 
pendence. But  when  these  difficulties  have  been  over- 
come, as  they  must  be  overcome  in  each  individual 
case,  and  the  disabled  man  has  in  fact  won  out  against 
his  own  enervation,  the  battle  will  be  only  half 
won  —  will,  in  fact,  be  lost  unless  the  community  as 
well  as  the  disabled  man  performs  its  full  duty.  The 
disabled  man  will  not  seek  work  as  a  charity  to  be 
extended  to  a  cripple.  The  square  deal  implies  full 
recognition  of  efficiency,  fair  valuation  of  service  ren- 
dered, and  opportunity  to  render  that  service. 

"Where  special  appliances,  safeguards  or  equipment 
are  required  as  means  of  overcoming  special  handi- 
caps, these  must  be  provided  under  fair  agreements 
with  employers,  and  some  supervision  after  placement 
will  be  necessary  to  insure  the  proper  carrying  out  of 
such  agreements. 

Some  systematic  record  of  each  man's  experience 
and  success  or  failure  after  placement,  which  will  in- 
dicate in  each  case  the  specific  causes  of  success  or 
failure,  will  provide  data  for  perfecting  the  scheme 

241 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

of  rehabilitation  as  a  whole,  and  for  correcting  past 
errors  of  training  and  policy.  The  whole  problem  of 
rehabilitation  is  largely  an  individual  problem,  but  in 
solving  the  individual  problem  presented  by  each 
man,  some  general  principles  may  be  applied,  and 
these  must  be  denned  in  terms  of  practical  experi- 
ence. Especially  causes  of  failure  as  developed  under 
wage-earning  conditions  must  be  noted,  in  order  that 
they  may  be  eliminated  in  future  cases. 

The  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education  has 
accordingly  organized  its  placement  and  follow-up 
staff,  with  representatives  in  every  section  of  the 
country  where  disabled  men  will  be  established  in 
new  occupations.  Branch  offices  of  the  Board  are 
established  for  this  purpose  in  Boston,  New  York, 
Philadelphia,  Washington,  Atlanta,  New  Orleans, 
Cincinnati,  St.  Louis,  Dallas,  Denver,  Chicago,  Minne- 
apolis, San  Francisco  and  Seattle.  Detailed  records 
are  made  of  each  case,  and  these  records  will  be 
continuous  and  open  for  additional  entries  from  time 
to  time  as  occasion  arises.  In  the  aggregate  each 
man's  record  will  tell  the  complete  story  of  the  whole 
process  of  his  rehabilitation,  from  his  entrance  into 
the  hospital,  through  all  the  stages  of  his  convalescence 
and  training,  to  his  final  placement  in  some  wage- 
earning  employment  and  his  experience  after 
placement. 

In  the  problem  of  placement  the  attitude  of  organ- 
ized labor  is  an  important  factor,  and  it  is  well  to 
outline  here  the  general  attitude  of  labor  towards  the 
rehabilitation  programme  as  denned  by  its  most  im- 
portant organization. 

242 


THE  PKOBLEM  OF  PLACEMENT 

When  the  movement  had  progressed  to  the  point  of 
official  recognition  and  the  President  had  suggested 
a  conference  of  all  interested  organizations,  at  the 
first  meeting  in  the  Surgeon-General's  office  both  the 
National  Association  of  Manufacturers  and  the 
American  Federation  of  Labor  were  represented. 
Both  were  equally  interested  in  the  measure.  While 
these  preliminary  conferences  and  activities  on  the 
part  of  labor  leaders  were  largely  upon  their  indi- 
vidual initiative,  their  attitude  was  heartily  endorsed 
by  the  annual  convention  of  the  American  Federation 
of  Labor  in  June,  1918. 

The  Vocational  Eehabilitation  bill,  agreed  upon  in 
these  preliminary  conferences  and  approved  by  the 
Administration,  had  already  passed  the  Senate  when 
on  June  10  the  following  section  of  the  report  of  the 
Executive  Council  was  adopted  by  the  convention  of 
the  American  Federation  of  Labor: 

This  measure  is  a  corollary  of  the  war-risk  insurance 
measure  and  rounds  out  a  beneficent  and  humanitarian 
policy  to  be  adopted  by  this  country.  In  former  years 
there  has  been  left  in  their  train  a  vast  multitude  of  men 
who  because  of  their  injuries  have  been  incapacitated  to 
follow  their  former  vocations,  or  have  become  dependents 
upon  society.  Under  the  spur  of  modern  thought  and 
action,  the  welfare  of  humanity  has  become  the  chief 
activity  of  our  interest  and  the  measures  referred  to  are 
calculated  to  rehabilitate,  reeducate,  refit  and  return  to 
industry  in  whatever  capacity  science  and  physical  ability 
may  suggest  for  the  disabled  victim  of  the  war.  In  fact, 
with  the  rehabilitation  measure  enacted  into  law,  coupled 
with  the  war-risk  insurance  law,  our  country  will  have 
taken  an  advanced  step  in  the  welfare  of  its  citizens.  With 
the  passage  of  this  measure  there  will  rest  a  Herculean  task 
on  the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education  to  perform, 

243 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

for  these  bills  provide  that  the  administration  of  the  reedu- 
cation, refitting  and  returning  to  industry  shall  be  in  charge 
of  the  Board  mentioned.  It  is  interesting  to  recall  that  the 
American  Federation  of  Labor  for  a  number  of  years  stood 
sponsor  for  and  urged  the  adoption  by  Congress  of  a 
Federal  vocational  educational  law,  and  its  efforts  were 
finally  crowned  with  success.  This  Board  during  its 
infancy  (for  it  has  only  been  in  existence  approximately 
a  year)  has  extended  the  work  of  aiding  the  states  in  estab- 
lishing systems  of  vocational  training.  As  it  is  now 
equipped  with  data  and  an  experienced  personnel,  it  is 
capable  to  administer  the  provisions  of  the  rehabilitation 
and  reeducation  bills  if  they  are  enacted  into  law. 

The  American  Federation  of  Labor  is  particularly  inter- 
ested in  the  reeducation  and  reentry  of  disabled  soldiers 
and  sailors  into  industry.  The  members  of  our  organiza- 
tions will  have  an  opportunity  to  perform  an  invaluable 
service  to  society  in  cooperating  with  the  Federal  Board  for 
Vocational  Education  in  carrying  on  its  work.  In  all  the 
countries  actively  engaged  in  the  present  war,  work  of  a 
similar  character  is  being  performed,  and  in  those  countries 
the  organizations  of  labor  are  giving  their  hearty  support 
and  cooperation.  It  is  perhaps  unnecessary  to  bespeak  the 
cooperation  of  the  American  labor  movement  in  this  great 
humantarian  work,  for  it  can  be  confidently  expected  that 
in  every  locality  of  our  country  where  our  organizations 
are  located,  there  the  members  of  those  unions  will  give 
material  assistance  to  the  carrying  out  of  this  great 
national  humantarian  work.  Representatives  of  the 
American  Federation  of  Labor  assisted  in  the  framing  of 
the  bill,  and  the  membership  will  without  doubt  assist  in 
the  execution  of  the  law  when  it  is  placed  upon  the  statute 
books.  That  there  may  be  a  close  cooperation,  it  has  been 
suggested  (and  that  suggestion  is  offered  for  approval) 
that  the  three  resident  members  of  the  executive  council 
located  in  Washington  be  authorized  by  the  convention  to 
cooperate  with  the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Educa- 
tion in  assisting  and  administering  the  law  when  it  shall 
have  been  passed.  The  duty  of  the  hour  requires  that  all 

244 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  PLACEMENT 

classes  of  citizens,  whether  they  be  employers  or  employees, 
give  a  full  measure  of  support  and  active  cooperation  in 
administering  a  law  which  has  for  its  purpose  the  making 
of  disabled  soldiers  and  sailors  productive  members  of 
society. 

Thus  the  great  council  of  organized  labor  recorded 
itself  squarely  in  favor  of  the  project.  Subsidiary 
organizations  have  vied  with  one  another  in  the  en- 
deavor to  be  helpful  in  realizing  the  full  aims  of  the 
Government  as  regards  the  retraining  of  disabled 
soldiers  and  their  absorption  into  the  skilled  trades  or 
occupations  for  which  they  have  been  trained.  The 
magazines  and  publications  of  the  various  branches  of 
union  labor  have  been  hearty  and  cordial  in  their 
endorsement  of  the  plan.  Individual  workers  in 
shops  and  elsewhere  have  taken  great  interest  in  help- 
ing to  give  the  disabled  men  instruction  and  in  as- 
sisting them  to  master  the  intricacies  of  various 
trades.  On  the  whole,  the  attitude  of  organized 
labor  has  been  brotherly,  helpful  and  patriotic,  nor 
has  it  been  grudging  or  half-hearted  in  any  phase  of 
the  programme  in  which  it  has  been  concerned. 


245 


CHAPTER  XXI 

OPPORTUNITIES  FOR  THE  RETRAINED  IN  THE  PUBLIC 
SERVICE 

The  Federal  Government  as  an  employer  of  labor  —  Its  func- 
tions enormously  extended  under  war  conditions  —  Prob- 
able permanent  extension  of  the  civil  service  —  Positions 
and  appointments  in  the  Federal  service  in  normal  years 
—  Opportunities  open  to  the  disabled  in  the  competitive 
positions  —  Preferential  appointment  from  lists  of  elig- 
ibles  proposed  —  Opportunities  in  state  and  municipal 
eivil  service  —  Public  service  in  France  reserved  for  the 
disabled. 

One  immediate  and  impressive  effect  of  the  war 
has  been  the  tremendous  enlargement  of  the  function 
of  the  Federal  Government  as  an  employer  of  labor. 

Waging  war  is  a  supreme  function  of  every  state, 
that  function  of  sovereignty  that,  more  than  any  other, 
has  determined  the  continuous  development  of  the 
state's  eminent  powers  as  they  are  defined  in  existing 
governments.  As  war  has  become  largely  an  in- 
dustrial enterprise,  involving  the  manufacture  and 
transport  of  the  machinery  and  munitions  of  war  and 
the  maintenance  of  all  the  various  services  necessary 
for  the  support  of  armies,  the  war  powers  inherent  in 
every  government  have  accordingly  become  largely 
industrial  powers.  These  powers  are  latent  and 
potential  in  every  state,  but  they  are  not  exercised 
in  full  in  any  state  except  in  the  actual  emergency  of 
war.  Especially  in  a  democracy  they  may  be,  as  they 
were  in  our  own  case,  so  remote  from  the  practical 
programme  of  politics  as  to  be  disregarded  and  even 

246 


OPPORTUNITIES  IN  PUBLIC  SERVICE 

very  generally  denied  during  long  periods  of  peace. 
But  upon  the  outbreak  of  war  every  restriction  upon 
the  power  of  the  state  weakens  and  yields  to  the  pres- 
sure of  the  emergency. 

In  the  case  of  our  own  democracy,  the  abandonment 
of  traditional  restrictions  upon  the  power  of  the 
Federal  Government  has  been  complete;  it  was  ac- 
cepted as  a  matter  of  course  in  the  first  months  of  the 
war.  Legalistic  definitions  of  the  respective  powers 
of  the  Federal  Government,  of  the  several  state  gov- 
ernments, and  of  private  individuals  have  had  no 
meaning  since  the  outbreak  of  the  war;  the  absolute 
supremacy  of  the  Federal  Government  has  been  un- 
reservedly conceded  in  the  emergency. 

Inevitably  the  exercise  of  these  latent  powers  is  a 
social  experience  in  which  conventions  and  traditions 
are  dissolved.  With  the  restoration  of  peace  certain 
powers  which  have  been  exercised  in  war  time  may  be 
resigned  by  the  Federal  Government,  but  it  is  quite 
inconceivable  that  this  nation,  or  any  other  nation 
that  has  waged  war  on  any  such  scale  as  measures 
our  recent  engagement,  will  emerge  from  the  experi- 
ence with  its  political  philosophies  unaffected.  Even 
if  the  Government  does  not  retain  permanently  under 
its  direct  control  the  railroads  and  the  wires,  and  does 
not  proceed  from  the  policy  of  Government  control 
and  operation  to  the  policy  of  Government  ownership, 
it  is  inconceivable  that  the  old  regime  of  private 
ownership  and  control  as  it  had  developed  before  the 
war  will  be  completely  reestablished ;  and  it  is  incon- 
ceivable, further,  that  the  Government  will  completely 
resign  its  newly  assumed  powers  of  regulation  in  other 
industries  and  in  domestic  and  foreign  commerce, 

247 


BEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

The  nation  at  war  commandeers  industry,  and  the 
government  becomes  for  the  time  being  the  ultimate 
employer  of  all  labor,  directly  or  indirectly.  Private 
employers  are  permitted  to  continue  to  operate  in  the 
industrial  field  on  suff ranee,  subject  to  such  govern- 
ment direction  and  control  and  as  may  seem  expedient 
for  war  purposes.  This  enlargement  of  the  character 
of  the  government  as  an  employer  of  labor  involves 
social  adjustments  that  are  in  their  nature  more  or 
less  permanent,  and  the  assumption  of  social  respon- 
sibilities of  which  the  government  cannot  immediately 
divest  itself  under  any  policy  that  may  be  adopted 
upon  the  termination  of  the  war. 

It  may  safely  be  assumed  that  the  functions  of  the 
Federal  Government  as  an  employer  of  labor  will  be 
permanently  and  considerably  enlarged  in  conse- 
quence of  its  war  activities,  and  this  enlargement  may 
have  important  consequences  in  effecting  the  de- 
mobilization of  the  overseas  forces  and  the  return  of 
men  discharged  from  military  service  to  civil  employ- 
ment. Through  its  enlarged  powers  the  Government 
will  be  able  to  control  the  whole  process  of  de- 
mobilization. 

For  a  considerable  period  after  the  war  the  Federal 
Government  will  certainly  continue  to  operate  in  the 
industrial  field  as  an  employer  of  labor  more  exten- 
sively than  it  has  done  in  the  past,  and  it  is  during 
precisely  this  period  that  the  problem  of  providing 
employment  for  men  disabled  in  the  war  and  voca- 
tionally retrained  will  be  most  acute.  In  its  char- 
acter as  an  employer  of  labor  the  Government  cannot 
and  will  not  avoid  those  obligations  to  the  disabled 
that  it  seeks  to  impose  upon  other  employers.  Clearly 

248 


OPPORTUNITIES  IN  PUBLIC  SERVICE 

the  Government  cannot  refuse  to  take  back  into  its 
enlarged  civil  service  any  who  have  been  drafted  out 
of  any  branch  of  that  service  into  the  Army  or  Navy, 
if  it  proposes  to  private  employers  that,  so  far  as 
possible,  they  shall  similarly  provide  for  their  former 
employees.  In  general,  any  proposal  that  the  Gov- 
ernment makes  to  private  employers,  it  must  itself 
accept  as  regards  reservation  of  suitable  employments 
for  disabled  men. 

Under  the  amplified  industrial  activities  of  the 
Government,  this  reservation  of  Government  employ- 
ments may  very  well  provide  a  much  larger  field  for 
the  placement  of  disabled,  retrained  men  than  any  list 
of  civil-service  employments  prepared  in  the  past 
would  indicate,  but  without  considering  these  ampli- 
fications of  Government  functions,  even  before  the  war 
the  Federal  Government  was  a  very  large  employer  of 
labor.  For  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1917,  the 
number  of  classified  competitive  positions  in  the  Fed- 
eral civil  service,  as  reported  by  the  United  States 
Civil  Service  Commission,  was  326,899.  In  that  year 
212,114  persons  were  examined  by  the  Civil  Service 
Commission,  156,927  were  passed,  and  86,312  were 
appointed.  The  appointments  included  approxi- 
mately 20,000  post-office  clerks,  carriers  and  post- 
masters, 60,000  in  the  various  field  services  of  the 
Government,  and  7,000  in  the  departmental  services  in 
Washington.  Of  the  total  number  of  departmental 
classified  competitive  positions,  the  number  in  "Wash- 
ington was  35,477,  and  outside  of  "Washington,  291,422. 
Excepted,  non-competitive,  unclassified,  and  Presi- 
dential positions  bring  the  total  number  of  civil 
service  positions  up  to  497,867,  of  which  41,417  were 

249 


EEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

in  Washington  and  456,450  outside  of  Washington. 
Additions  to  the  service  by  appointment  and  in  other 
ways  during  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1917, 
totaled  121,768,  distributed  as  follows : 

In         Outside 

Class  of  position  Total  Washing-  Washing- 

ton ton 

Classified  competitive  positions  .  97,231  11,678  85,553 
Excepted  and  non-competitive 

positions    7,959  597  7,362 

Unclassified    positions 16,578  740  15,838 

Total    121,768       13,015       108,753 

Guarantee  of  employment  to  disabled  men  is  an 
important  provision  in  our  adopted  rehabilitation 
policy,  and  the  civil  service  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment clearly  provides  one  large  field  for  placement  of 
retrained  men.  In  this  service,  although  clerical  em- 
ployments are  numerically  predominant,  the  range  of 
occupations  is  sufficiently  extensive  to  provide  a  great 
variety  of  openings  for  men  of  special  attainments, 
skill  and  capacities.  Men  who  have  lost  one  or  both 
legs  and  an  arm  will  not  thereby  be  incapacitated  for 
rendering  efficient  service  in  many  Government  offices. 
The  Government  employs  thousands  of  accountants, 
statistical  clerks,  schedule  editors,  typists,  stenograph- 
ers, file  clerks,  secretaries,  and  other  office  assistants. 
It  employs  thousands  of  field  agents  for  the  collec- 
tion of  data  relating  to  agriculture,  industry  and 
commerce;  thousands  of  inspectors,  of  customs  asses- 
sors, of  postmasters,  of  printers,  of  engravers,  of  car- 
penters and  mechanics.  It  employs  by  the  hundred 
lawyers,  chemists,  physicists,  biologists,  astronomers, 
mathematicians,  economists,  geologists,  financial  and 

250 


OPPORTUNITIES  IN  PUBLIC  SERVICE 

banking  experts,  architects,  writers,  and  editors.  In 
each  of  these  fields  and  in  many  other  fields  the 
public  service  embraces  men  of  every  degree  of  skill, 
experience  and  capacity,  from  that  involved  in  routine 
office  work  to  that  involved  in  purely  scientific  re- 
search which  is  the  farthest  removed  from  routine. 

Janitors,  doorkeepers  and  nightwatchmen  are  in  the 
Federal  civil  service,  but  they  do  not  constitute  a  very 
considerable  portion  of  that  service.  Under  our 
newly  adopted  policy,  such  employments  will  not  be 
reserved  in  the  future,  as  they  have  been  in  the  past, 
especially  for  disabled  veterans.  It  is  not  proposed 
that  these  employments  or  any  other  employments  in 
the  civil  service  shall  be  reserved  for  disabled  men, 
except  in  so  far  as  the  disabled  men  may  qualify  to 
fill  the  positions  in  open  competition  with  all  candi- 
dates. It  is  proposed  to  train  the  disabled  man  for 
full  efficiency  in  the  civil  service,  if  he  elects  to  enter 
it,  as  in  private  employment  if  he  elects  that. 

Adequate  training  will  qualify  many  of  the  disabled 
men  for  civil-service  appointments  under  competitive 
examinations.  Approximately  two-fifths  of  the  can- 
didates qualifying  for  appointment  under  competitive 
examinations  receive  appointments.  It  may  fairly  be 
proposed  that  in  making  appointments  from  lists  of 
eligibles  after  the  war,  preference  shall  be  given  to 
those  who  have  rendered  service  in  the  Army  and 
Navy,  and  especially  to  those  who  have  returned  from 
the  war  unfit  on  account  of  injuries  or  impaired 
health  to  resume  their  former  occupations.  A  bill 
introduced  by  Representative  Harrison  (now  Senator- 
elect)  of  Mississippi  establishing  such  preference  is 
now  on  the  calendar  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

251 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

No  exemption  from  examination  or  lowering  of 
standards  in  favor  of  disabled  men  would  be  in  the 
best  interests  either  of  the  public  service  or  of  the 
disabled  men  themselves,  nor  is  any  thing  of  the  sort 
proposed  by  the  Harrison  bill.  A  fundamental  princ- 
iple of  our  policy  of  rehabilitation  is  that  each  man 
shall  be  made  100  per  cent,  efficient  for  some  employ- 
ment, and  shall  qualify  for  that  employment  in  open 
competition.  No  remission  of  requirements  or  special 
favor  or  concession  in  the  matter  of  efficiency  is 
requested  or  desired.  For  some  employment  each 
disabled  man,  with  very  few  exceptions,  can  be  made 
fully  efficient,  provided  the  employment  is  intelligently 
selected  so  as  to  avoid  the  special  handicap  or  handi- 
caps in  each  individual  case. 

Giving  preference  to  the  disabled  men  over  others 
who  qualify  for  civil-service  appointments  is  very  dif- 
ferent from  remitting  requirements  or  lowering  stand- 
ards. It  is  simply  recognition  of  an  obligation  resting 
upon  the  community  as  a  whole  and  assumed  by  the 
Federal  Government  to  return  disabled  men  to  civil 
employment.  Such  men  as  can  qualify  should  be 
given  first  preference  for  appointments  to  be  made 
by  the  Government  itself,  as  well  as  by  other  employers 
of  labor. 

It  may  be  expected  that  states,  counties  and  munici- 
palities, as  well  as  the  Federal  Government,  will  recog- 
nize their  obligation  to  provide  employment  for  dis- 
abled men  when  such  employment  can  be  provided 
without  impairing  the  efficiency  of  the  public  service. 
The  number  of  public-service  positions  available  under 
local  governments  cannot  be  accurately  determined, 
but  the  1910  Federal  census,  in  its  table  of  occupa- 

252 


OPPORTUNITIES  IN  PUBLIC  SERVICE 

tions,  gives  in  one  section,  under  "public  service  not 
elsewhere  classified, ' '  the  number  of  various  classes  of 
"state  officials  and  employees,"  which  total  for  males 
approximately  12,000.  The  total  of  "county  officials 
and  employees"  is  approximately  30,000,  and  of  "city 
and  town  officials  and  employees, ' '  175,000.  Some  of 
the  occupations  specified  for  men  in  these  local  public 
services  are  inspectors  of  food  and  other  products, 
bookkeepers,  accountants,  clerks,  stenographers,  type- 
writers, stationary  engineers,  teamsters,  keepers  of 
charitable  and  penal  institutions,  surveyors,  weighers, 
foremen,  firemen,  machinists,  and  meter  readers. 

Here  also,  in  the  local  public  services,  is  an  exten- 
sive field  for  the  placement  of  disabled  men  who  have 
been  retrained,  and  it  may  confidently  be  anticipated 
that  the  states  and  municipalities  will  cooperate  heart- 
ily with  the  Federal  Government  in  opening  their 
public  services  to  such  men.  Many  of  these  employ- 
ments are  obviously  of  such  a  character  as  to  be 
entirely  suitable  for  handicapped  men.  They  include, 
for  example,  many  lines  of  outside  work,  such  as  may 
be  especially  indicated  for  tubercular  convalescents, 
and  many  lines  of  clerical  work  that  may  be  under- 
taken by  those  unfitted  for  strenuous  physical  labor. 
The  loss  of  a  hand  or  an  arm  certainly  would  not  dis^ 
qualify  a  man  for  employment  as  a  meter  reader,  or  as 
an  inspector  of  foods,  or  as  a  weigher.  The  loss  of  a 
foot  or  a  leg  would  not  generally  disqualify  for  ren- 
dering efficient  service  as  a  bookkeeper,  accountant, 
typist,  stenographer,  clerk,  or  in  many  other  public- 
service  positions. 

In  France  the  policy  of  reserving  public-service 
positions  for  disabled  men  has  been  definitely  adopted, 

253 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

and  a  survey  of  such  positions  available  has  been 
made  to  determine  specifically  the  requirements  of 
each  position.  In  making  appointments  to  such  posi- 
tions it  is  provided  that  for  a  limited  period  of  years 
preference  shall  be  given  to  disabled  men  who  can 
qualify  under  the  requirements  specified. 

This  is  not  the  old  story  of  the  scarred  veteran 
being  carried  on  the  public  payrolls  as  a  sort  of  pen- 
sioner. It  cannot  be  too  often  reiterated  that  the 
scarred  veterans  of  the  Great  War  will  be  made  effi- 
cient for  service,  and  having  been  made  efficient,  they 
will  enter  upon  employment  and  will  work  in  the 
public  service,  as  in  other  service,  in  free  competition 
with  all  comers.  This  condition  of  employment  will 
not  be  a  hardship  for  the  disabled.  It  will  be,  on  the 
contrary,  a  stimulus,  a  means  of  inspiring  self-respect, 
and  a  guarantee  of  that  contentment  and  happiness 
which  attaches  to  the  performance  of  useful  labor. 


254 


CHAPTER  XXII 

RECORDS  OF  INDIVIDUAL.  SUCCESS 

Success  of  the  reeducated  demonstrated  abroad  —  Examples 
from  Canadian  experience  —  Men  retrained  with  enhanced 
earning  capacity  —  A  rehabilitated  blind  man  —  Rehabili- 
tated farmers  —  A  score  of  miscellaneous  cases  —  Oiy- 
acetylene  welding. 

All  innovations  are  received  with  more  or  less  skep- 
ticism. The  popular  mind,  in  the  mass,  is  conserva- 
tive in  the  extreme  and  rather  difficult  to  convince. 
It  is  frankly  dubious  of  the  merit  of  new  things  and 
adheres  with  tenacity  to  those  familiar. 

It  has  been  somewhat  slow  to  accept  the  fact  that  in 
some  cases  the  disabled  man  can  be  made  more  effec- 
tive and  given  a  greater  earning  capacity  than  he  had 
before  he  received  his  injury  and  subsequent  disability 
to  continue  in  his  pre-war  occupation.  It  is  a  seem- 
ing paradox  to  those  persons  who  do  not  take  the 
trouble  to  reflect  and  to  analyze  the  large  list  of  trades 
and  occupations  that  afford  excellent  pay  and  steady 
employment.  Very  few  of  these  occupations  are 
dependent  upon  mere  brute  strength  or  upon  all  the 
strength  or  all  the  capacities  of  a  man.  On  analysis, 
most  of  them  will  be  found  to  be  specialized  opera- 
tions requiring  the  use  of  only  a  few  muscles.  Hence, 
it  is  not  difficult  to  assort  the  trades  and  the  disabled 
men,  and  to  fit  the  men  into  occupations  in  which  they 
are  as  well  equipped  to  work  as  if  they  had  suffered 
no  injuries  whatever.  This  is  largely  the  secret  of 
reeducational  success.  Dr.  Prosser,  testifying  before 

255 


REDEMPTION  OP  THE  DISABLED 

the  House  and  Senate  Joint  Committee  on  Education 
and  Labor  put  the  matter  in  a  nutshell : 

There  is  not  any  difference  at  bottom  between  taking  the 
normal  man,  and  a  disabled  man  and  educating  him,  after 
you  once  determine  what  you  are  going  to  educate  him  for. 

That  the  reeducated  men  have  attained  success  is 
no  longer  a  subject  of  controversy  or  doubt.  There 
are  thousands  of  them  in  England,  in  France,  Italy, 
and  Canada.  The  United  States  has  just  got  the  work 
well  under  way,  training  the  injured  properly  for 
occupations  for  which  they  are  especially  fitted,  and 
placing  them  in  positions  when  they  are  qualified. 
The  Federal  Board  made  a  remarkable  record  for  effi- 
ciency in  "  getting  on  the  job."  The  Smith-Sears 
Act  was  signed  by  President  Wilson  and  became  law 
on  June  27,  1918.  The  first  week  in  the  following 
September,  two  months  and  a  week  from  that  date,  the 
work  of  placing  disabled  soldiers  for  reeducation  was 
under  way.  As  practically  none  of  the  courses  is  of 
less  than  six  months'  duration,  however,  it  is  as  yet 
(February,  1919)  too  early  to  point  to  men  who  have 
been  graduated  and  placed  back  in  industry  or  in 
civil  life ;  but  of  the  successful  accomplishment  of  this 
result  there  is  not  the  slightest  shadow  of  a  doubt. 
Canada,  upon  whose  system  ours  is  modeled,  furnishes 
us  proof  in  great  abundance  of  what  vocational  re- 
education can,  and  does,  accomplish. 

Some  testimony  given  before  the  Joint  Committee 
on  Education  of  the  Senate  and  House  in  the  hearings 
on  the  Smith-Sears  Vocational  Rehabilitation  bill  is  of 
considerable  interest.  The  witness  was  Mr.  A.  E. 
Holder,  member  for  labor  of  the  Federal  Board  for 

256 


RECORDS  OF  INDIVIDUAL  SUCCESS 

Vocational  Education  and  one  of  the  expert  machin- 
ists of  the  country.  Mr.  Holder  had  made  two  trips 
to  Canada  to  observe  the  working  of  the  reeducation 
of  soldiers,  and  was  giving  some  of  his  observations. 
Said  Mr.  Holder: 

I  found  in  one  case  a  bricklayer,  who  had  never,  before 
the  war,  done  anything  but  follow  the  general  routine  of 
his  trade  in  laying  bricks.  When  he  returned,  disabled,  he 
was  not  able  to  lay  bricks  on  the  outside,  on  account  of  his 
injuries.  Of  course,  it  is  not  possible  to  expect  that  a  man 
can  get  easy  work  at  bricklaying;  but  through  the  benefits 
of  the  opportunities  afforded  him  in  the  new  vocational 
school  he  has  developed  into  being  an  estimator  and  cost 
accountant,  and  his  old  employer  has  given  him  an  oppor- 
tunity to  work  at  85  cents  an  hour,  whereas  the  highest  rate 
he  made  as  a  bricklayer  before  the  war  was  75  cents  an 
hour. 

I  found  the  case  of  a  machinist,  who  previous  to  the  war 
was  occupying  a  subordinate  position  in  a  machine  shop, 
running  a  drill  press.  He  came  back  into  the  Montreal 
Technical  School  and  after  six  months'  intensive  training, 
he  had  qualified  himself  to  take  a  position  in  the  tool  room 
of  the  Dominion  Iron  Works  as  not  only  tool  caretaker,  but 
toohnaker  at  $125  per  month. 

A  most  remarkable  exhibition  was  also  revealed  in  that 
particular  school,  of  a  young  man  whose  right  arm  was  still 
in  a  sling  and  who  had  only  his  left  hand  and  arm  free  to 
work  with.  He  had  been  in  the  machine  gun  corps  on  the 
front.  He  had  found  that  in  operating  a  machine  gun  at 
night,  the  flashes  betrayed  the  position  of  the  men  operat- 
ing it  and  invited  the  enemy  fire.  So  he  had  invented  a 
device  which  did  not  deflect  the  shot  or  interfere  with  the 
precision,  but  which  hid  the  flash;  and  when  I  asked  him 
did  he  expect  to  get  a  patent  on  it  he  said :  "  No  indeed. 
This  is  for  the  Canadian  people  to  protect  their  own 
rights!"  That  man  had  never  seen  a  machine  shop  before 
the  war.  The  device  he  constructed  was  an  intricate  piece 

257 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

of  work  requiring  the  greatest  precision,  and  the  instructor 
of  the  school,  who  was  an  old  time  mechanic  and  a  man  who 
was  thoroughly  competent  to  judge,  showed  me  —  as  an 
expert  in  the  machine  shop  myself  —  some  of  the  particular 
niceties  of  this  especial  contrivance. 

REPRESENTATIVE  FESS:  Mr.  Holder,  in  the  cases  where 
the  rehabilitated  soldier  was  getting  higher  pay  than  before, 
was  there  any  element  of  sympathy  in  that,  or  was  it  hia 
training  that  merited  it? 

MR.  HOLDER  :  I  think  it  was  because  of  pure  merit. 

I  found  a  boiler  maker  —  and  undoubtedly  you  are 
familiar  with  the  usual  rough  work  of  a  boiler  maker  in  a 
boiler  shop.  This  man  had  never  been  familiar  with 
mathematics;  he  had  never  been  familiar  with  pencil  and 
paper  to  draw  plans;  and  yet  in  the  course  of  six  months' 
instruction,  after  discharge  from  the  hospital,  his  drawings, 
shown  to  me  by  the  instructor,  of  flanges  and  sheets  and 
designs  were  almost  impossible  to  believe  true.  This  man 
had  obtained  a  position  which  was  paying  him  more  than 
the  maximum  rate  that  he  had  been  paid  as  a  boiler  maker 
before  the  war.  Merit  alone  won  him  the  place. 

One  of  the  most  extraordinary  things  was  the  case  of  a 
young  Greek,  who  in  January  of  this  year  was  unable  to 
write  in  the  English  language.  A  copy  book  was  exhibited 
to  me  by  Major  Stanley,  the  director  of  the  school  —  one  of 
the  ordinary  copy  books  of  about  50  pages  —  and  on  the 
first  page  there  were  the  letters  of  the  English  alphabet 
written  clumsily,  inaccurately,  and  almost  illegibly,  and  in 
the  course  of  a  few  pages  we  found  the  letters  improving 
and  being  connected  with  others,  making  syllables  of  two 
letters  and  three  letters  and  the  like;  and  on  the  15th  of 
April  his  last  copy  was  one  of  the  classics  from  one  of  the 
school  readers,  and  it  had  the  appearance  of  fine  copper- 
plate work. 

With  these  exhibitions  before  us  of  the  extraordinary 
development  and  progress  of  these  students,  it  of  course  has 
the  effect  of  enabling  us  to  say  that  all  of  the  old  ideals 
of  a  tedious  course,  either  in  elementary  education  or  tech- 
nical education,  have  been  shattered. 

258 


RECORDS  OF  INDIVIDUAL  SUCCESS 

Other  Canadian  cases  placed  in  evidence  before  the 
Committee  were  equally  interesting,  and  of  course 
beyond  question  true.  At  the  Guelph  School,  for 
instance,  one  young  man  with  a  severe  scalp  wound 
was  a  farmer-teamster  and  general  laborer,  earning 
wages  averaging  around  $60  a  month  before  the  war; 
he  is  now  employed  at  $70  a  month  in  a  more  agreeable 
occupation.  Another  was  a  lumberman,  accustomed 
to  earning  $3.50  a  day ;  but  on  returning  to  the  woods 
he  took  charge  of  a  stationary  engine,  for  which  work 
he  had  been  reeducated,  and  drew  $4  a  day.  Another 
who  formerly  made  $35  a  month  now  gets  $65.  All 
three  of  these  men  had  been  very  badly  wounded. 
Private  Henry  Gerrish  lost  his  entire  left  arm;  he 
studied  in  the  convalescent  hospital,  passed  his  civil- 
service  examination,  obtained  an  appointment  as  post- 
master at  $125  per  month,  and  persuaded  one  of  his 
nurses  to  marry  him. 

One  man  who  applied  to  the  Canadian  authorities 
for  help  had  lost  both  legs  and  an  eye.  He  was  a 
married  man  with  two  children.  The  pension  office 
had  rated  him  as  a  100  per  cent,  disability  and  pen- 
sioned him  on  that  basis.  The  vocational  reeducation 
authorities  took  him  to  a  wholesale  jewelry  firm  and 
arranged  for  him  a  course  in  silver  polishing.  After 
five  and  a  half  months'  training  he  not  only  learned 
polishing  but  soldering  and  gilding  as  well.  The  firm 
employed  him  at  $75  a  month  to  start,  which  is,  of 
course,  in  addition  to  his  total-disability  pension. 

Most  remarkable  is  the  case  of  Captain  Edward 
Baker  of  the  Canadian  forces.  He  was  21  years  of 
age  when  he  enlisted  on  the  declaration  of  war,  and 
had  just  graduated  as  an  electrical  engineer.  He  won 

259 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

the  Croix  de  Guerre  and  the  British  Military  Cross 
in  thirty  days  after  he  arrived  in  France.  On  a  recon- 
noitering  expedition  he  was  shot  through  the  front  of 
the  head  and  was  totally  and  permanently  blinded. 
With  the  fine  spirit  of  a  soldier  he  determined  to  make 
the  best  of  it,  and  went  to  St.  Dunstan's  Hostel, 
London,  where  the  blind  are  trained.  He  took  up 
typewriting  and  reading  Braille,  and  in  seven  months 
returned  to  Canada.  He  was  awarded  the  total-dis- 
ability pension  plus  $35  a  month,  as  he  has  to  have 
someone  to  lead  him  around. 

The  Hydro-Electric  Company  at  Toronto  employed 
him  as  typewriter.  In  1918  he  was  taking  dictation 
direct  from  dictaphone,  taking  trouble  reports  over 
the  long-distance  telephone  all  the  way  along  the  line 
between  Niagara  and  Toronto,  and  making  out  the 
trouble  reports  on  a  sheet  of  paper  with  twelve  rulings 
on  it.  By  a  very  ingenious  spacing  arrangement  at 
the  top  of  his  typewriter  which  he  invented  himself, 
he  could  put  in  the  date,  the  time  of  day,  the  trouble, 
the  peak  load,  the  low  load,  and  the  number  of  min- 
utes, and  sign  his  name  as  fast  as  a  man  with  full 
sight,  and  do  it  all  accurately  and  neatly.  He  earns 
a  very  fair  salary. 

There  are  hundreds  of  other  cases,  authenticated 
beyond  any  possible  doubt.  A  few  of  them  are  given 
below  as  typical,  the  names  only  being  withheld  by 
request  of  the  reeducational  authorities  to  protect  the 
men  from  undesired  publicity.  The  men  themselves 
exhibit  a  marked  disinclination  to  figure  in  the  public 
prints  or  be  considered  as  marvels  or  in  any  way  out 
of  the  ordinary.  They  do  not  ask  any  special  consid- 
eration on  account  of  the  injuries  suffered,  and  insist 

260 


RECORDS  OF  INDIVIDUAL  SUCCESS 

upon  going  strictly  upon  their  own  merits  as  workers 
in  the  particular  lines  for  which  they  have  been 
trained. 

Aside  from  the  omission  of  names,  there  follows  a 
transcript  of  official  records.  The  first  list  deals  with 
a  number  of  young  farmers  and  farm  hands,  a  calling 
which  certainly  cannot  be  classed  under  usual  condi- 
tions as  a  particularly  highly  paid  or  desirable 
occupation. 

A.  had  swollen  legs  due  to  blocked  veins;  took  telegraphy 
and  obtained  a  position  as  operator  at  $90.95  per  month  to 
start  with. 

B.  had  lesion  of  the  left  external  popliteal  nerve;  took 
course   in   oxy-acetylene   gas   welding   and   upon   finishing 
found  immediate  employment  with  a  large  ironworks  at  40 
cents  per  hour. 

C.,  with  severe  gunshot  wound  in  head,  took  the  tractor 
and  gas-engine  and  farm-machinery  course  and  found 
ready  work  operating  a  farm  tractor  for  $100  per  month 
and  his  board. 

D.  lost  his  left  foot;  took  farm- tractor  and  gas-engine 
course  and  was  employed  during  the  season  of  1918  at  $100 
per  month  and  board  operating  a  tractor. 

E.  had  his  back  injured  in  a  mine  explosion  in  France; 
graduated  from  farm-tractor  course  and  was  employed  in 
1918  at  $5  a  day  and  board  operating  a  farm  tractor  and 
machinery  on  a  large  wheat  farm. 

F.  lost  some  muscle  from  his  right  thigh;  took  motor- 
mechanics  course  and   was  offered  and  accepted  a  half- 
iaterest  in  a  flourishing  garage  business  on  account  of  his 
technical  knowledge  of  motors. 

G.  took  the  farm-machinery  course  and  is  now  a  travel- 
ing salesman  for  a  farm-machinery  house,  drawing  a  mini- 

261 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

mum  salary  of  $80  per  month  and  expenses  with  commis- 
sions on  sales  in  addition. 

H.  was  just  a  farm  hand  around  a  dairy  before  the 
war.  Left  leg  was  injured  and  he  was  deafened.  He  took 
the  dairying  course  and  is  now  manager  of  a  branch  cream- 
ery at  $100  per  month  and  good  prospects. 

I.  lost  the  use  of  his  left  leg  from  gunshot  wound;  took 
course  in  telegraphy  and  on  graduation  got  a  job  as  station 
agent  with  house,  light  and  fuel  furnished  and  $82.50  per 
month  salary. 

J.  lost  his  left  arm;  took  telegraphy  and  graduated  into 
a  job  with  a  railroad  at  $85  per  month. 

K.  had  developed  tuberculosis;  it  was  arrested,  but  he 
had  to  have  an  out-of-doors  occupation.  Took  a  course  in 
bee-keeping  and  now  has  his  own  apiary  and  is  doing  well. 

L.  developed  chronic  nephritis;  always  wanted  to  go 
into  mechanics;  took  the  machine-shop  course  and  is 
employed  in  a  large  motor  company  at  43  cents  an  hour. 

Many  other  illustrations  could  be  given  of  cases  in 
which  farm  hands  have  developed  into  able  workmen 
in  various  lines,  but  the  above  are  sufficiently  indica- 
tive. Many  a  chap  through  the  blood  and  mud  of  the 
Flanders  trenches  has  found  the  way  to  his  real  voca- 
tion, which,  by  reason  of  poverty  or  lack  of  oppor- 
tunity, he  otherwise  would  have  never  been  able  to 
attain. 

Some  other  instances,  for  which  the  writer  vouches 
absolutely,  the  details  only  of  names  and  places  being 
withheld  at  the  request  of  the  authorities,  are : 

A.,  former  stage-hand,  had  stiffness  of  left  shoulder 
joint;  took  the  motor-mechanics  course;  obtained  employ- 
ment as  chauffeur  at  $24  a  week. 

262 


RECORDS  OF  INDIVIDUAL  SUCCESS 

B.,  a  prospector  and  extra  conductor;  left  shoulder 
muscle  dead  and  left  wrist  joint  removed;  took  commercial 
course  and  is  employed  by  a  mining  company  at  $25  a 
week. 

C.,  overage;  bronchitis,  myalgia,  etc.;  glazier  and 
painter;  took  course  in  stationary  engineering;  has  steady 
employment  at  40  cents  per  hour. 

D.,  limited  movement  left  elbow  and  weak  left  arm;  was 
student,  no  profession;  took  civil  engineering;  found  place 
at  $125  per  month  on  his  completing  course.  . 

E.,  ordinary  teamster;  shell  wound  of  abdomen;  took 
motor-mechanics  course;  has  place  as  chauffeur  at  $80  per 
month. 

F.,  former  blacksmith;  loss  of  lung  tissue  from  gunshot 
wound;  took  the  machine-shop  course;  is  now  employed  as 
section  tool  fitter  at  40  cents  per  hour. 

G.,  farm  laborer;  lost  left  leg;  talent  for  drawing;  took 
course  in  drafting;  obtained  employment  to  start  on  with 
large  firm  at  $20  per  week. 

H.,  former  butcher;  left  wrist  damaged  by  gunshot 
wound;  took  commercial  course  and  is  now  traveling  sales- 
man for  a  butcher's  supply  company  at  $80  per  month 
minimum  and  expenses  guaranteed,  with  commissions. 

I.  was  a  glove  cutter;  lost  use  of  right  wrist;  took  com- 
ercial  course  and  his  first  job  was  as  bookkeeper  at  $80  per 
month. 

J.  was  a  bakery  wagon  driver  and  clerk;  developed 
valvular  heart  disease  from  strain,  also  neuresthenia.  Took 
course  in  stenography  and  typewriting  and  on  graduation 
went  to  work  at  $100  per  month. 

K.  was  a  plumber;  compound  fracture  of  left  leg  and 
leg  shortened;  took  commercial  course  and  is  inspector  with 
public  works  department  of  a  city  at  $100  per  month. 

263 


EEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

L.  had  been  carriage  and  wagon  carpenter;  lost  some 
fingers  of  his  left  hand;  studied  heating-plant  operation 
and  landed  with  a  big  coal  company  as  demonstrator,  sales- 
man and  trouble  man  at  $3.25  per  day. 

M.  was  a  woods  laborer;  got  drop  wrist  from  wound; 
studied  steam  engineering;  graduated  into  a  steady  job 
with  a  large  manufacturing  concern  at  60  cents  per  hour 
as  pipe  fitter. 

N.  was  a  railway  fireman;  got  stiff  knee  from  gunshot 
wound;  took  the  course  in  stationary  engineering  and 
readily  obtained  position  as  engineer  at  a  sawmill  at  $3.75 
per  day. 

0.  suffers  from  shell  shock;  former  textile-roller  maker; 
took  course  in  machine-shop  practice  and  started  as  machin- 
ist with  a  manufacturing  company  at  30  cents  per  hour. 

P.  was  a  railway  fireman;  lost  his  left  leg  from  wounds; 
took  a  course  in  poultry  raising;  on  completion  got  a  job 
with  a  large  poultry  ranch  at  $60  per  month  for  practical 
experience  before  embarking  for  himself. 

Q.  was  a  seaman;  developed  chronic  rheumatism  of  leg; 
had  a  mechanical  bent  and  took  a  course  in  toolsmithing. 
Went  right  into  a  job  as  toolmaker  at  $90  per  month. 

R.  was  a  locomotive  engineer;  paralysis  in  leg  from 
wound;  took  electrical  engineering  and  his  first  job  started 
him  at  $75  per  month. 

S.  was  an  ordinary  telephone  lineman;  bullet  wound  in 
left  leg  gave  him  a  stiff  knee  which  ended  his  career  climb- 
ing telephone  poles.  He  took  the  electrical-engineering 
course  and  graduated  into  a  job  in  charge  of  a  power  house 
at  $110  per  month. 

T.  was  a  riveter;  gunshot  wound  of  left  lung;  took  farm- 
tractor  course  and  was  employed  steadily  on  a  big  wheat 
farm  at  $110  per  month. 

264 


TRAINING     IK     OXY-ACETYLENE     WELDING     AT     DUNWOODY     INDUSTRIAL 
INSTITUTE,    MINNEAPOLIS.      THE     MAN    HOLDING    THE    TORCH    IS    A    DIS- 
CHARGED   SAILOR,    FORMERLY    A    BOILERMAKER,     WITH     IMPAIR- 
MENT  OF  ONE    EYE 


A  MAX  WITH  LEGS  COMPLETELY  PARALYZED  IX  THAIXING  AS  A  LIXOTYPE 
OPERATOR    AT     DUXWOODY,     INDUSTRIAL    INSTITUTE,    MINNEAPOLIS 


RECORDS  OF  INDIVIDUAL  SUCCESS 

U.  was  a  butcher;  shrapnel  wound  in  both  knees;  took 
commercial  course  and  civil-service  examination  and  was  at 
once  appointed  to  a  $1,000  job  in  a  custom  house. 

Another  coming  trade  is  that  of  oxy-acetylene  weld- 
ing. The  following  are  a  few  instances  of  men  who 
have  taken  it  up : 

A.  was  a  young  fellow  without  any  trade  —  a  drifter ; 
had  chronic  endocarditis;  took  the  welding  course  and  at 
once  obtained  steady  employment  at  54  cents  per  hour. 

B.,  a  former  car  repairer,  incapacitated  by  measles,  pneu- 
monia and  complications;  graduated  as  an  oxy-acetylene 
welder  and  obtained  ready  employment  at  54  cents  per 
hour. 

C.  was  a  machinist's  helper,  incapacitated  by  sciatica  of 
left    leg,    and    on    completing    the    oxy-acetylene    welding 
course,  went  to  work  at  54  cents  per  hour. 

D.  was  a  miner  with  stiffened  knee  from  gunshot  wound ; 
graduated  in  oxy-acetylene  welding  and  obtained  a  steady 
job  at  45  cents  per  hour. 

All  of  the  above  are  actual  cases,  and  only  a  very 
few  of  the  many  to  be  found  on  record.  They  are 
cited  to  show  that  the  retrained  men  are  still  ' '  carry- 
ing on"  with  profit  to  themselves  and  to  their  country, 
which  gains  in  proportion  as  the  usefulness  of  its 
citizens  and  their  earning  power  increase. 


265 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

THE  DUTY  OP  THE  HOME  COMMUNITY 

The  Government's  power  of  rehabilitation  definitely  limited  — 
Rehabilitation  dependent  ultimately  upon  the  attitude  and 
efforts  of  home  community  —  Duties  of  the  home  com- 
munity towards  the  disabled  man  —  Provision  of  employ- 
ment —  The  disabled  man  entitled  to  a  fair  trial  as  worker 
and  citizen  —  Social  rehabilitation  a  paramount  duty  — 
The  disabled  man  needs  encouragement,  not  commisera- 
tion —  Full  admission  to  community  fellowship  the  obliga- 
tion of  the  home  community. 

Although  the  Federal  Government  proposes  to  do 
all  that  it  can  do  to  insure  the  future  welfare  of  the 
disabled  soldier  or  sailor  returning  to  civil  employ- 
ment, and  has  provided  ample  funds  out  of  the  public 
purse  for  carrying  out  its  programme  of  training  and 
placement,  it  is  obvious  that  there  are  very  definite 
limits  to  the  scope  of  its  powers. 

The  need  for  training  and  placement  may  be  de- 
scribed as  an  acute  need  requiring  active  treatment, 
a  need  pertaining  to  the  process  of  rehabilitation. 
Just  as  the  physical  disabilities  of  the  disabled  man 
require  active  surgical  and  medical  treatment  to 
insure  complete  convalescence  and  functional  restora- 
tion, so  his  vocational  disabilities  require  active  educa- 
tional treatment  to  insure  his  complete  vocational 
convalescence  and  restoration.  This  active  vocational 
treatment  the  Federal  Government  can  and  will  pro- 
vide. But  the  period  of  active  treatment  will  be  gen- 
erally of  short  duration,  seldom  extending  over  more 
than  a  year,  and  being  completed  in  many  cases  within 

266 


THE  DUTY  OF  THE  HOME  COMMUNITY 

a  few  months.  The  Government,  as  has  been 
noted  already,  will  stand  ready  to  resume  the  active 
treatment  in  the  case  of  any  retrained  and  placed  man 
who  develops  deficiencies  of  training  or  new  weak- 
nesses or  disabilities  after  entering  upon  employment. 
Need  for  the  resumption  of  active  treatment,  however, 
in  the  form  of  more  training  in  the  occupation  which 
has  been  selected  or  of  new  training  in  a  different  occu- 
pation, will  probably  develop  in  comparatively  few 
cases.  Generally  the  retrained  man  will  be  definitely 
placed  in  a  suitable  occupation  at  the  end  of  his  first 
course  of  training  and  will  not  return  for  further 
active  treatment. 

After  this  brief  period  of  training,  the  disabled  man 
will  enter  upon  a  life-long  period  of  work  and  service 
in  his  home  community.  To  help  him  perform  man- 
fully the  daily  routine  of  economic  and  social  activ- 
ities will  be  the  function  of  the  home  community. 
The  retrained  man  will  not  be  constitutionally  ailing, 
subnormal  and  dependent,  but  the  fact  must  be  faced 
frankly  that  no  camouflage  of  artificial  limbs  will 
enable  the  one-legged  or  legless  man  to  walk  with  an 
entirely  natural  stride,  or  the  one-armed  or  armless 
man  to  perform  all  the  little  courtesies  or  even  the 
more  serious  services  of  life  with  entirely  natural  ease 
and  grace.  To  the  end  of  his  life  the  disabled  man 
will  be  carrying  on  manfully,  but  carrying  on,  we 
must  not  forget,  as  a  one-legged  or  legless  man,  a  one- 
armed  or  armless  man,  a  one-eyed  or  blinded  man,  a 
man  with  a  disfigured  countenance,  a  weakened  heart, 
or  overstrained  nerves.  These  handicaps  will  be  real, 
but  they  can  be  largely  overcome  provided  the  home 
community  performs  its  full  duty,  not  merely  during 

267 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

the  first  months  after  the  soldier's  return,  in  the  first 
glory  of  his  homecoming,  but  as  well  during  the  long 
years  to  follow,  after  that  first  glory  has  faded  and  the 
man  is  again  on  his  own  as  a  plain  civilian  going  about 
his  daily  routine  labor,  ungracefully,  it  may  be,  but 
with  a  will  to  win. 

For  the  home  community  the  problem  of  the  re- 
turned disabled  man  will  be  essentially  a  personal 
problem  —  the  problem  of  providing  for  John  and 
William  and  Henry,  rather  than  for  Smith,  or  Jones, 
or  Robinson.  In  the  draft  files  of  the  Bureau  of  War 
Kisk  Insurance  there  are  thousands  of  Smiths,  Joneses 
and  Robinsons,  including  a  thousand  more  or  less  of 
John  Smiths.  But  in  the  home  town  there  will  be 
only  one  John,  one  William,  one  Henry,  and  their  file 
numbers  will  be  entirely  superfluous  as  means  of 
identification.  In  the  home  town  it  will  not  be: 
"  Smith,  John.  No.  3,768,471.  Amputation  right 
elbow;  former  occupation  carpenter,  retrained  as 
building  inspector";  but:  "John  has  come  back. 
He's  been  a  bit  shot  up  over  there.  He  can't  do  car- 
pentering, but  wants  a  chance  to  make  good  in  another 
line  of  work,  and  it's  up  to  us  to  fit  him  in,  and  see 
that  he  has  that  chance.  He  won  our  war  for  us,  and 
we  must  help  him  win  out  against  that  empty  sleeve. ' ' 
In  some  such  way  as  this  the  problem  of  the  returned 
disabled  soldier  will  present  itself  in  every  home 
community. 

Bear  in  mind  that  John  will  have  been  thoroughly 
retrained  for  work  in  some  occupation  that  has  been 
selected  in  conference  with  him  as  the  occupation  in 
which  he  can  most  certainly  make  good  in  spite  of  his 
disability.  If  upon  trial  he  does  not  make  good,  the 

268 


THE  DUTY  OF  THE  HOME  COMMUNITY 

Federal  Government  will  stand  ready  to  retrain  him 
for  some  other  occupation,  and  to  continue  this  process 
until  John  finds  an  occupation  in  which  he  can  com- 
pete on  terms  of  equality  with  the  best  men  in  that 
trade. 

John  will  want  employment.  He  will  want  a  chance 
to  demonstrate  that  he  can  earn  a  man's  wages.  He 
will  want  this  the  day  after  he  arrives,  and  as  soon  as 
he  has  shaken  hands  all  round.  The  Federal  Govern- 
ment proposes  to  find  a  job  for  him  in  his  own  home 
town,  but  the  Federal  Government  cannot  provide  the 
job,  and  it  cannot  find  one  unless  the  home  community 
provides  it. 

John's  old  employer  may  be  holding  open  for  him 
his  old  place  in  the  shop  or  office.  If  John  cannot 
take  up  his  former  work,  perhaps  he  has  been  trained 
for  some  other  closely  allied  line  of  work.  If  he  had 
been  a  carpenter  but  cannot  now  resume  his  trade,  he 
may  perhaps  have  been  trained  for  drafting  or  for 
office  work,  and  his  old  employer  may  find  that  he  is 
a  more  competent  workman  in  this  new  line  than  he 
was  in  his  old  occupation  before  enlistment.  John 
may  have  been  taught  things  that  will  enable  him  to 
qualify  as  a  foreman.  To  his  practical  experience  as 
a  carpenter  may  have  been  added  a  technical  know- 
ledge of  his  trade  that  he  might  never  have  acquired 
while  working  for  his  old  employer. 

But  perhaps  John's  disability  is  of  such  a  character 
that  he  would  better  not  return  to  his  old  employer 
at  all.  Some  entirely  new  line  of  work  may  have  been 
determined  upon  as  John's  best  chance.  In  that  case 
a  new  employer  must  be  found,  or  rather  a  new  em- 
ployer must  come  forward  and  offer  to  give  John  a 

269 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

trial  on  the  Government's  guarantee  of  his  capabilities 
as  developed  by  training. 

In  this  task  of  fitting  John  in,  various  agencies  can 
render  helpful  service.  Local  boards  of  trade  and 
chambers  of  commerce,  for  example,  will  be  natural 
agencies  for  discovering  precisely  where  in  the 
economic  life  of  the  community  he  can  best  be  placed 
and  given  the  opportunity  to  which  he  is  entitled. 
Labor  organizations  can  aid  by  entering  into  agree- 
ments that  will  insure  fair  conditions  of  employment 
and  fair  wages.  In  individual  cases  the  employer 
may  cooperate  with  the  Federal  Government  in  pro- 
viding machinery  with  special  appliances  and  adjust- 
ments that  will  enable  John  to  do  his  work  and  will 
safeguard  him  against  accident. 

No  employer  will  be  expected  to  employ  John  at  a 
loss.  On  the  contrary,  he  will  be  expected  not  to 
employ  him  at  a  loss,  but  rather,  if  he  fails  after  fair 
trial  in  free  competition  with  fellow  workmen,  to 
report  to  the  agent  of  the  Federal  Board  for  Voca- 
tional Education  that  John  is  not  making  good. 
After  fair  trial  —  that  sums  up  the  whole  case.  The 
employer,  the  labor  union,  the  church,  the  social  club, 
in  fact,  the  home  community  in  all  its  complex  eco- 
nomic and  social  relationships,  must  insure  John  a 
fair  trial,  nothing  more  and  nothing  less  —  a  fair 
trial  as  a  worker  certainly,  but  above  all  a  fair  trial  as 
a  citizen  and  neighbor,  as  John  who  has  come  home 
again. 

John  will  certainly  be  fitted  in,  because  the  Federal 
Government  has  undertaken  his  placement  and  has 
already  sufficient  assurances  from  employers  that  they 
will  heartily  assist  in  the  work.  But  the  home  com- 

270 


THE  DUTY  OF  THE  HOME  COMMUNITY 

munity  must  see  to  it  that  John  does  not  get  shuffled 
out  of  place  after  he  has  been  finally  released  from 
any  sort  of  Government  supervision,  for  in  his  own 
best  interests  he  must  eventually  pass  out  from  under 
that  supervision.  Expressed  negatively,  it  will  be 
the  duty  of  the  home  community  not  to  forget,  not  to 
neglect,  not  to  segregate,  not  to  provide  old  soldiers' 
homes,  not  to  be  content  with  rendering  merely  "lip 
gratitude."  If  it  avoids  these  offenses  in  the  long 
years  of  John's  carrying  on,  it  will  experience  no 
difficulty  in  understanding  and  discharging  its  full 
obligation  in  each  individual  case. 

The  square  deal  is  not  entirely  a  matter  of  employ- 
ment under  fair  conditions.  Work  is  not  the  whole 
of  life  for  the  disabled  any  more  than  it  is  for  others. 
It  is  a  foundation  of  happiness  and  contentment,  but 
there  are  other  conditions  essential  to  normal  life, 
and  there  are  other  obligations  towards  the  disabled 
man  than  that  of  making  him  efficient  in  some  voca- 
tion, and  providing  employment  for  him  at  fair  wages 
and  under  fair  conditions.  These  other  obligations 
neither  the  Federal  Government  nor  the  local  com- 
munity in  its  official  or  organized  character  can  fulfill. 
Eather  they  rest  directly  upon  each  individual  sev- 
erally in  the  home  community.  They  are  the  obliga- 
tions of  common  fellowship  that  arise  in  the  small 
contacts  of  everyday  life. 

Disability  incurred  in  the  Great  War  service  will 
be  a  badge  of  honor,  not  a  badge  of  dependency  or  of 
mendicancy.  Commiseration,  favoritism,  or  charity, 
in  the  usual  sense  of  that  term,  will  be  a  mistaken 
expression  of  individual  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the 
returned  soldier  or  sailor.  It  will,  in  fact,  be  worse 

271 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

than  that  —  it  will  be  a  vulgar  offense  against  common 
courtesy. 

Above  all  other  things  the  disabled  man  will  long 
for  unaffected  comradeship,  and  this  he  is  fairly  en- 
titled to  enjoy.  He  will  be  sensitive  to  any  expres- 
sion of  sympathy,  however  well  intentioned,  that  sets 
him  apart  from  his  fellows  as  a  poor  but  deserving 
unfortunate  who  must  be  provided  for.  All  expres- 
sions of  sympathy  that  imply  a  certain  superiority  on 
the  part  of  the  person  expressing  it,  in  his  own 
estimate  of  himself  in  comparison  with  the  disabled 
man,  will  be  in  exceedingly  bad  taste,  to  put  it  mildly, 
in  the  case  of  men  disabled  in  the  war. 

The  physically  and  mentally  fit  man  commiserating 
the  disabled  man  will  seem  to  be  saying :  ' '  You  poor 
fellow !  You  see  how  fit  I  am.  All  my  members  and 
senses  and  capacities  are  as  prime  as  can  be.  I  am 
superlatively  fit.  I  am  sorry  for  you.  You  are  not 
quite  all  there.  Let  me  exhibit  my  superlative  fitness 
a  little  by  telling  you  how  exceedingly  sorry  I  am 
for  you.  Poor  fellow ! ' '  Perhaps  the  disabled  man 
will  not  be  all  there,  but  he  might  very  well  reply  in 
thought,  if  not  in  words,  somewhat  to  this  effect: 
* '  I  am  not  all  here,  but  I  do  not  feel  that  the  sacrifice 
which  I  have  made  of  limb  or  capacity  warrants  any 
assumption  of  superiority  or  any  patronizing  by  you 
who  have  come  out  of  the  war  superlatively  fit  in  mind 
and  body.  Your  prime  physical  and  mental  fitness 
is  your  good  fortune,  perhaps,  rather  than  greatly  to 
your  credit.  My  disability  is  for  me  at  least  as  fair 
an  occasion  of  self-respect  as  your  fitness  is  for  you. 
My  unfitness  I  do  not  regret  in  the  least.  I  do  not 
ask  your  favor  or  sympathy,  but  only,  if  you  will 

272 


THE  DUTY  OF  THE  HOME  COMMUNITY 

give  it,  I  ask  that  comradeship  which  bars  out  every 
assumption  of  superiority  on  account  of  your  fitness. 
In  such  a  comradeship,  if  my  right  sleeve  is  empty,  I 
am  proud  to  extend  to  you  my  left  hand.  I  do  not 
regret  the  empty  sleeve,  and  I  do  not  understand  your 
commiseration  on  account  of  it.  It  seems  to  me  rather 
an  evidence  of  duty  performed.  "With  my  left  hand 
I  propose  to  continue  the  performance  of  my  duties  as 
well  as  I  am  able  to  do.  If  you  can  help  me  to  do 
my  work,  I  shall  accept  your  help,  not  as  a  personal 
favor  to  me,  but  as  a  service  for  which,  if  I  have  not 
already  compensated  you  by  my  public  service,  I  shall 
in  the  future  repay  you  in  full  by  working  faithfully 
with  such  capacities  as  have  been  saved  to  me  from 
the  ravages  of  the  war. ' '  However  unfit  he  may  be, 
the  disabled  man  will  certainly  have  the  best  of  the 
argument. 

Even  if  the  disabled  man,-  being  only  human,  is 
disposed  to  accept  the  "tea  and  lip  gratitude"  that, 
as  John  Galsworthy  has  aptly  put  it,  will  "unsteel 
his  soul,"  the  first  duty  of  the  community  and  of 
each  individual  in  it  is  to  avoid  in  all  of  its  insidious 
and  varied  forms  precisely  this  unsteeling  of  the  soul. 
Commiseration  in  every  form  will  be  essentially  and 
inevitably  and  in  every  instance  relaxing  in  its  effects 
upon  the  inner  spirit  of  the  disabled  man.  It  will  not 
be  less  so  when  the  disabled  man  is  disposed  to  accept 
rather  than  to  resent  it.  It  will  in  all  cases  be  un- 
steeling because  it  will  represent  a  false  attitude  — 
that  of  the  commiserated  to  the  commiserator.  The 
true  attitude  is  that  of  common  comradeship  between 
the  man  who  has  rendered  a  service  and  his  fellow  who 
would  make  such  return  as  he  is  able  to  make,  not  as 

273 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

a  favor,  but  as  a  plain  duty,  not  as  an  expression  of 
pity  or  sympathy,  but  as  an  expression  of  neighborly 
fellowship  and  of  common  interest  in  a  great  achieve- 
ment involving  common  sacrifices  as  the  price  of 
common  benefits. 

Public  opinion  sums  up  individual  thinking  and 
by  reaction  formulates  individual  codes  of  conduct. 
It  is  essential  for  the  development  of  a  helpful  public 
sentiment  in  regard  to  disabled  soldiers  that  each 
individual  shall  think  straight  and  act  accordingly. 
As  a  basis  of  straight  thinking  it  is  essential  that  each 
individual  keep  in  mind  the  Federal  programme  of 
rehabilitation  in  its  broadest  aspects.  It  is  a  simple 
programme,  but  it  is  nevertheless  complete  and  ade- 
quate. No  man  injured  in  the  service  will  be  aban- 
doned in  need.  He  will,  on  the  contrary,  be  made  as 
physically  fit  as  medical  science  and  surgery  can 
make  him,  and  he  will  be  given  such  a  course  of  train- 
ing as  is  best  adapted  to  make  him  most  fit  to  work. 
He  will  be  replaced  in  civil  employment  and  protected 
against  exploitation  or  danger  to  physical  wellbeing 
so  long  as  he  is  in  need  of  protection.  During  his 
lifetime  he  will  be  paid  monthly  a  sum  of  money  as 
compensation  for  any  permanent  injury  received. 
His  wages  and  his  compensation  will  generally  under 
normal  conditions  provide  fairly  for  him  and  his 
family.  The  Federal  Government  does  not  propose 
to  abandon  the  disabled  man  to  private  philanthropy. 
Certainly,  in  simple  justice  to  the  disabled  man,  the 
Federal  Government  can  do  no  less  than  it  is  pro- 
posing to  do ;  but  also,  in  simple  justice  to  the  Federal 
Government,  private  individuals  should  not  presume 
that  the  disabled  man  is  unprovided  for  and  that  he 

274 


THE  DUTY  OF  THE  HOME  COMMUNITY 

is  being  returned  to  civil  life  as  a  ward  of  public  or 
private  charity. 

For  these  men  the  Government  does  not  ask  charity. 
It  asks  more  than  that.  It  asks  good  fellowship.  It 
asks  that  they  shall  not  be  set  apart  from  other  men 
in  their  home  communities,  made  heroes  of  for  a  day 
and  dependents  for  life,  by  thoughtless  doles  of  pity 
and  by  even  more  pernicious  doles  of  money,  whether 
in  the  form  of  sums  given  outright  or  of  wages  paid 
when  not  fairly  earned. 

Every  citizen,  including  the  injured  man  himself, 
must  understand  that  the  Nation  purposes  to  perform 
its  full  duty  in  behalf  of  every  man  disabled  in  the 
war,  even  as  the  disabled  man  himself  has  performed 
his  full  duty  in  behalf  of  the  Nation.  Every  citizen, 
including  the  injured  man,  must  understand  that  the 
returned  soldier  or  sailor  disabled  in  military  service 
who  refuses  to  take  such  retraining  as  he  may  require 
to  enable  him  to  resume  the  responsibilities  of  civil 
life  in  full  economic  independence,  and  who  freely 
elects  to  enter  upon  the  career  of  a  pensioned  idler,  is 
as  much  a  slacker  in  peace  as  he  would  have  been  in 
war  had  he  avoided  a  military  duty. 

Whether  or  not  pensioned  slackers  will  vitiate  our 
civil  life  for  a  generation  to  come  will  be  determined 
largely  by  the  individual  contacts  in  the  first  years  of 
home  community  life  after  the  disabled  man's  return. 
If  he  is  admitted  into  the  community  fellowship,  as 
a  man  among  men,  respected  for  and  endeared  by  his 
services  and  sacrifices  but  not  pitied  or  unsteeled  by 
charity  doles,  all  will  be  well  with  him  and  his  and 
with  the  community  in  which  he  lives.  This  is  the 
duty  of  the  citizen  who  was  not  elected  to  render 

275 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

military  service  to  the  citizen  soldier  or  sailor  who 
was  so  elected  and  has  returned  to  civil  life.  To 
him  must  be  extended,  not  charity,  but  the  right 
hand  of  fellowship. 


276 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

A  SUSTAINED  PUBLIC  SENTIMENT  NECESSARY 

The  Vocational  Rehabilitation  Act  a  reflection  of  public  senti- 
ment—  Success  of  the  programme  dependent  upon  sus- 
tained public  interest  —  Public  opinion  should  condemn 
pensioned  idleness  —  Dangers  of  the  sinecure  job  for  the 
untrained  man  —  The  women 's  part  —  Public  opinion 
crystallized  in  a  consistent  course  of  conduct  —  Disregard 
of  disabilities  and  concentration  on  capabilities  of  the  dis- 
abled man  essential  —  The  disabled  man  in  trade  entitled 
to  some  preference  in  patronage  —  Sound  and  permanent 
public  sentiment  dependent  upon  individual  interest  — 
The  disabled  man  the  brother  in  arms  of  those  who  have 
fought  the  fight  at  home. 

In  the  enactment  of  the  law  authorizing  the  voca- 
tional reeducation  and  rehabilitation  of  disabled 
soldiers  and  sailors,  Congress  believed  it  was  voicing 
a  general  sentiment  of  the  people  of  this  Republic 
that  not  charity,  but  a  chance,  should  be  extended  to 
the  men  who  had  lost  their  earning  capacity  and 
sacrificed  their  future  for  their  country's  good. 
Certainly,  all  indications  have  been  that  this  concep- 
tion of  the  public  attitude  was  correct.  Utterances 
of  newspapers,  magazines,  publicists  and  prominent 
men  from  every  section  and  region  have  confirmed 
the  position  taken  by  the  national  lawmakers.  There 
has  been  a  remarkable  unanimity  of  opinion,  not  in 
regard  to  the  precise  method  to  be  adopted,  for  that 
has  been  largely  an  evolution,  but  in  the  fundamental 
decisions  that  the  very  best  and  most  advantageous 
thing  possible  should  be  done  for  the  disabled  men. 

Acting  upon  this  general  agreement  of  the  public 
277 


EEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

mind,  Congress  enacted  a  law  based  upon  the  broad 
wish  of  the  American  people,  but  entrusted  its  execu- 
tion to  a  competent  agency  with  sufficient  freedom  of 
action  and  latitude  in  which  to  use  a  wise  discretion, 
adapt  methods  to  suit  conditions,  and  take  advan- 
tage of  improvements  and  the  results  of  experience 
both  at  home  and  abroad.  The  only  fixed  and  definite 
command  was  that  the  disabled  men  were  to  have  the 
best  advantages  obtainable  in  retraining,  and  were  to 
be  given  a  fair  chance  to  make  good  in  the  lines  for 
which  they  have  been  qualified  through  specialized 
reeducation. 

At  all  times  the  success  of  the  programme  is  largely 
dependent  upon  the  active  and  sustained  interest  of 
the  public,  and  especially  is  this  true  in  the  final 
realization  of  results.  The  public  mind  is,  after  all, 
but  the  composite  reflection  of  many  individual  minds, 
and  in  proportion  as  the  individual  intelligence  shines 
is  the  public  interest  bright  or  dim. 

One  influence  of  sustained  public  sentiment  upon 
the  work  of  redemption  may  be  illustrated  by  the  case 
of  a  badly  injured  soldier  who  receives  a  pension  for 
almost  total  disability,  let  us  say  between  $75  and 
$100  per  month.  His  one  great  desire  is  to  get  out 
of  the  hospital  and  back  to  his  family.  He  does  not 
respond  to  suggestions  from  the  vocational  adviser 
that  he  take  up  a  course  of  training  which  will  enable 
him  to  supplement  his  pension  by  earning  as  much 
or  more.  He  feels  that  he  has  "done  his  bit"  and 
should  not  be  expected  to  work  at  anything.  His  idea 
is  to  settle  down  and  subsist  upon  the  pension  awarded 
him.  If  he  learns  through  the  public  prints,  from 
visitors,  from  people  he  meets,  from  relatives  and 

278 


A  SUSTAINED  PUBLIC  SENTIMENT 

others  interested  in  him,  that  his  conception  is  wholly 
wrong,  that  he  is  running  counter  to  public  opinion, 
and  that,  notwithstanding  his  grievous  condition,  as 
long  as  he  has  life  and  a  measure  of  potential  ability 
he  owes  duties  of  citizenship,  he  will  undoubtedly  be 
amenable  to  reason.  If  he  learns  that  the  unanimous 
verdict  is  that  he  is  a  "quitter"  because  he  has 
dropped  the  fine  spirit  of  the  brave  soldier  to  become 
a  querulous,  utterly  idle  pensioner,  refusing  to  make 
the  most  of  his  remaining  capabilities,  indifferent  alike 
to  his  dependents,  his  community  and  himself,  shame 
may  overcome  his  selfish  and  narrow  conception  and 
cause  him  to  follow  that  course  best  for  himself  and 
for  his  community. 

To  many  a  disabled  man  also  the  temptation  is 
great  to  go  into  some  immediate,  sinecure  job,  offered 
in  the  flood  tide  of  patriotism  and  while  the  war  spirit 
is  high.  These  things  pass  to  some  extent.  In  the 
long,  lean  after-years  of  peace,  when  the  fight  is 
transferred  from  the  fields  of  France  and  Flanders 
to  the  warfare  for  daily  existence,  what  of  the  in- 
capacitated man  who  cannot  render  value  received  in 
some  particular  line?  He  who  has  an  empty  sleeve, 
or  a  scarred  body,  or  a  disease-racked  system  —  can  he 
survive  economically?  Manifestly  not,  in  the  race 
with  an  expert  in  a  particular  line  created  out  of  a 
man  similarly  disabled  by  vocational  retraining! 
The  man  with  no  expert  knowledge  of  anything  is  at. 
a  tremendous  disadvantage.  Inevitably  in  course  of 
time  he  will  be  compelled  to  fall  back  upon  his  rela- 
tives or  the  public  for  support.  If  the  man  can  be 
made  to  see  this  and  realize  it  as  the  public  realizes  it, 
and  the  time  to  make  him  see  it  is  before  he  leaves  the 

279 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

hospital  and  becomes  a  "drifter"  in  civil  life,  the 
result  will  be  that  instead  of  a  pensioned  idler,  he 
will  become  a  highly  trained  workman,  earning  good 
wages.  His  family  will  not  suffer  by  reason  of  in- 
adequate income  supplied  only  by  the  pension.  His 
children  will  not  be  compelled  at  an  early  age  to  find 
employment  with  which  to  eke  out  the  family  revenue, 
thereby  jeopardizing  their  education  and  prospects  of 
the  right  mental  training  to  insure  a  fair  chance  in 
life's  struggle.  The  man  himself  will  be  a  respected 
member  of  his  community,  one  who  has  brought  to  the 
problems  and  battles  of  daily  existence  his  experience 
in  other  battles,  his  ability  to  command  himself  and 
overcome  his  inclination  to  a  life  of  pensioned  idleness. 

It  is  well  to  point  out  here  that  the  success  of  this 
first  fundamental  task  of  the  Government  in  repairing 
ravages  of  war  depends  vitally  upon  the  interest  and 
sustained  cooperation  of  our  women.  The  women 
are  expected  largely  to  render  aid  in  persuading  their 
loved  ones  in  uniform,  upon  whom  fate  has  cast  in- 
capacitating injuries,  to  accept  the  offer  made  by  the 
Nation  as  part  of  a  just  due.  Further,  it  is  for  the 
women  largely  to  mould  the  public  opinion  that  will 
convince  the  disabled  man  that  he  still  has  soldierly 
qualities  that  are  expected  to  be  exercised  in  ex- 
emplifying good  citizenship. 

The  women  must  in  the  first  instance  adopt  the 
proper  attitude  toward  the  disabled  man.  In  their 
keeping  is  the  ability  to  make  or  mar  his  future,  to 
render  effective  the  assistance  proffered  by  the  Gov- 
ernment or  to  neutralize  it.  One  of  the  great  handi- 
caps other  nations  have  found  is  the  tendency  of  the 
disabled  man's  womenfolk  to  condole  with  him  and 

280 


A  SUSTAINED  PUBLIC  SENTIMENT 

inculcate  or  encourage  the  germ  of  that  most  un- 
manning virus  of  self-pity,  or  cause  him  to  regard 
himself  as  a  hero  of  whom  no  further  effort  should 
be  expected  and  beneath  whose  dignity  is  all  work. 
In  nearly  every  instance  the  women  can  strike  the  key- 
note to  which  the  man's  future  life  and  viewpoint  can 
be  pitched.  They  can  cause  him  to  accept  the  view 
that  he  should  "carry  on"  and  become  a  citizen  be- 
fitting his  fine  record  as  a  soldier,  or  they  can  make 
a  weakling  of  him,  clinging  to  others  for  support  and 
bewailing  that  which  the  fortunes  of  war  have  appor- 
tioned him.  The  natural  maternal  instinct  is  to  pet 
and  make  much  of  the  injured  boy  or  husband  or 
brother.  It  is  wholly  admirable  in  reason  if  with  it 
is  admixed  the  commonsense  and  resolution  that  will 
make  the  disabled  man  see  what  is  best  for  himself, 
best  for  those  dependent  upon  him,  and  best  for  his 
community. 

So  much  for  the  effect  of  the  public  mind  upon  the 
disabled  individual,  acting  as  a  spur  to  his  manhood, 
his  conscience  and  his  sense  of  duty.  This  is  the  first 
and  primary  influence.  It  can  be  achieved,  however, 
only  when  public  sentiment  goes  further  than  the 
mere  urging  and  advising  of  the  soldier.  It  must  be 
more  than  lip  service,  and  it  must  never  be  tainted 
with  the  condescending  attitude  of  a  superior.  The 
public  view  must  be  crystallized  into  a  consistent 
course  of  conduct,  which,  for  those  individuals  affected 
in  the  general  mass,  should  be  as  sharply  defined  and 
certain  as  it  is  in  regard  to  the  soldier  himself. 

The  public  mind,  that  is  to  say,  the  local  community 
mind,  must  focus  upon  what  the  disabled  man  can  do, 
and  not,  as  it  is  usually  inclined,  upon  what  he  cannot 

281 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

do.  It  is  best  to  cease  regarding  him  in  terms  of  dis- 
ability and  to  visualize  and  appreciate  his  remaining 
capacities,  which  are  often,  by  reason  of  specialized 
education  and  development,  vastly  more  valuable  to 
him  than  those  he  lost.  We  do  not  judge  a  man's 
worth  or  ability  in  a  given  line  by  the  color  of  his 
eyes  or  hair  or  his  degree  of  baldness.  Why  then 
should  we  persist  in  regarding  as  an  incapable  and  an 
object  of  semi-charity  a  man  who  has  lost  his  legs  but 
has  been  trained,  let  us  say,  as  a  tailor  ?  A  tailor  does 
not  sew  with  his  feet.  The  presence  or  absence  of  feet 
has  nothing  to  do  with  what  the  man  is  actually  able 
to  accomplish  with  his  arms  and  hands.  This  prin- 
ciple holds  through  a  long  list  of  disabilities. 

Nor,  on  the  other  hand,  should  a  man  be  put  down 
as  a  malingerer  or  imposter  simply  because  he  bears 
no  visible  evidence  of  violent  injury.  Up  to  October, 
1918,  36  per  cent,  of  the  claims  for  pensions  presented 
to  the  Bureau  of  War  Risk  Insurance  were  on  account 
of  tuberculosis  contracted  or  developed  in  service.  Dr. 
Prosser,  testifying  before  the  Joint  Senate  and  House 
Committee  considering  the  Bankhead-Smith  bill  for 
vocational  education  of  the  disabled  of  industry,  re- 
marked :  ' '  The  worst  problem  is  that  of  the  tubercu- 
lous man.  He  is  in  worse  shape  than  the  man  who 
loses  an  arm  or  a  leg.  Thirty-four  per  cent,  of  the 
casualties  resulting  from  this  war  will  be  men  suffering 
from  consumption. ' ' 

Is  a  man  with  arrested  or  persistent  tuberculosis, 
contracted  in  a  foul  hole  burrowed  in  a  trench  wall  or 
in  crowded  barracks,  any  less  to  be  respected  than  the 
man  who  has  merely  lost  an  arm?  Lacerated  flesh 
and  bone  soon  heal,  but  the  menace  of  the  insidious 

282 


CLASS  IX  MECHANICAL  DRAFTING  UNDER  A  ONE-ARMED  INSTRUCTOR,  RED 
CROSS    INSTITUTE    FOR    CRIPPLED    AND    DISABLED   MEN,    NEW   YORK 


WOODWORKING  CLASS  AT  THE   SANITARIUM   FOR   TUBERCULOUS   CANADIAN 
SOLDIERS,    STE.    AGATHE-DES-MONTS,    QUEBEC 


A  SUSTAINED  PUBLIC  SENTIMENT 

disease  is  never  entirely  removed ;  a  lessening  of  vital- 
ity, and  it  has  pounced  upon  its  victim  like  the  lurk- 
ing cougar  from  the  limb  over  the  path.  A  man  with 
tuberculosis  may  be  prevented  from  returning  to  his 
well  paid  place  as  bookkeeper,  his  office,  or  his  indoor 
trade,  and  forced,  in  order  to  live,  to  take  up  the 
growing  and  vending  of  vegetables,  or  the  raising  of 
chickens,  or  small  farming.  It  all  goes  to  show  that 
appearances,  the  great  superficial  American  standard 
of  the  past,  are  utterly  worthless. 

It  is  quite  conceivable  that  the  expert  tailor  may 
not  be  a  good  hand  at  pushing  his  business,  arid  his 
lack  of  legs  may  be  a  handicap  to  him  in  promoting 
his  trade.  It  is  in  realizing  this  and  neutralizing  it 
that  the  public  can  render  patriotic  service,  by  giving 
him  preference.  Or  the  poor  fellow  who  is  trying  to 
dispose  of  his  vegetables  may  not  be  able  to  grade  them 
as  exactly  or  prepare  them  for  the  market  as  attrac- 
tively as  those  in  the  greengrocers'  establishments 
from  long  established  farms.  Is  it  asking  too  much 
of  the  housewives  to  give  his  vegetables  the  prefer- 
ence? These  men  do  not  want  charity  —  all  they 
want  is  a  chance.  Are  we  not  going  to  give  it  to  them, 
and  keep  it  up  as  long  as  is  necessary  ? 

We  as  a  people  are  much  given  to  fine  fervors  of 
enthusiasm.  We  commit  ourselves  to  a  course  and 
order  this  or  that  done  in  furtherance  of  it.  We  con- 
tinue our  lively  interest  for  a  while,  but  as  the  novelty 
palls,  we  pass  on  to  other  things,  vaguely  assuming 
that  what  we  have  decreed  or  commanded  will  be  self- 
executing,  and  that  our  institution  will  function 
according  to  our  desires  and  aims.  Frequently  we 
are  shocked  to  ascertain  afterwards  that  something 

283 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

has  happened  to  prevent  the  realization.  The  result 
usually  is  that  we  look  for  a  scapegoat,  quite  forget- 
ting or  overlooking  the  fact  that  the  responsibility  is 
upon  us,  the  people,  individually  and  collectively. 
We  minimize  the  fact  that  through  over-optimism, 
overconfidence,  lack  of  attention  and  failure  to  culti- 
vate a  systematic  interest  our  original  ambitions  have 
been  frustrated. 

The  average  citizen  would  indignantly  deny  the 
assertion  that  he  will  abate  his  interest  in  the  welfare 
of  the  disabled  soldier,  or  fail  to  be  at  all  times  the 
advocate  and  champion  of  these  men.  Yet  it  is  hardly 
doubtful  that  he  will  unconsciously  allow  his  interest 
to  become  dormant  in  course  of  time,  and  depend 
more  or  less  upon  others  for  leadership  and  action  in 
proving  faith  by  the  more  substantial  and  visible 
works.  It  is  just  this  sort  of  easygoing  optimism  we 
must  guard  against,  for  in  the  lessening  of  vigilant 
individual  interest,  community  effectiveness  suffers. 
In  the  weakening  of  the  local  community  standard, 
the  whole  rehabilitation  programme  begins  to  disinte- 
grate. The  foundation  upon  which  the  National  Gov- 
ernment has  sought  to  build  a  permanent  citadel  of 
refuge  for  its  disabled  fighting  men  is  rendered  inse- 
cure. Presently  the  new  walls  of  the  edifice  are 
crumbling,  leaving  the  whole  a  melancholy  monument 
to  justice  unsustained  —  good  intentions  which  failed 
by  reason  of  indifference  and  lack  of  individual 
appreciation  of  responsibility. 

This  individual  interest  must  be  directed  toward  all 
those  who  may  possibly  be  brought  in  contact  with  the 
injured,  retrained  men.  Employers  of  labor  must  be 
made  to  feel  the  weight  of  public  conviction  which 

284 


A  SUSTAINED  PUBLIC  SENTIMENT 

holds  them  under  moral  obligation  to  open  their  shops 
or  factories  to  disabled  men  who  may  be  qualified  for 
their  particular  lines  of  work.  Those  employers,  if 
any  there  be,  who  would  seek  to  exploit  the  disabled, 
by  means  of  discrimination  in  wages  for  equally  good 
work  with  uninjured  men  or  otherwise,  should  be 
smitten  with  the  lash  of  public  scorn  and  condemna- 
tion. If  possible,  the  goods  of  such  a  man  should  be 
boycotted,  the  offender  made  to  feel  himself  a  pariah 
indeed,  his  name  anathema  and  a  warning  to  others 
who  would  profit  by  the  disadvantages  of  helplessness 
of  these  disabled  men  who  are  putting  up  a  brave  fight 
to  sustain  themselves  as  civilians.  Conversely,  the 
employers  who  give  a  fair  chance  and  a  square  deal 
to  the  retrained  men  should  be  sustained  by  public 
opinion  and  the  more  substantial  evidence  of  approval 
accorded. 

The  people  who  have  remained  at  home  backing  up 
the  armies  with  money  and  munitions,  should  feel  a 
keen  comradeship  with  the  soldiers  from  the  front,  for 
they  are,  in  fact  and  in  truth,  all  soldiers  in  a  glorious 
common  cause,  each  serving  according  to  his  or  her 
ability  and  fitness.  Toward  the  disabled  soldier  they 
should  feel  only  that  by  fortunate  circumstance  he  has 
been  able  to  give  more,  to  give  of  his  very  self,  of  his 
blood  instead  merely  of  his  possessions  or  a  lesser 
service.  When  he  was  lying  wounded  and  helpless  in 
No  Man's  Land,  slowly  perishing  for  want  of  assist- 
ance, his  comrades  risked  a  thousand  forms  of  death 
and  brought  him  back  to  safety.  They  did  it  unself- 
ishly, gladly,  and  as  a  privilege.  They  needed  no 
orders,  no  suggestions,  no  exhortation.  It  was  the 
spontaneous  feeling  of  comradeship,  the  esprit  de 

285 


KEDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

corps,  the  instant  recognition  of  brotherhood  in  a  com- 
mon cause  and  duty  beyond  mere  regulations.  The 
menace  of  death  itself  could  not  hold  them  back ;  the 
thought  of  self  was  as  base  as  the  bloody  mud  about 
their  feet.  It  was  a  sublime  privilege  to  make  the 
sacrifice,  if  need  be  —  an  exaltation  of  spirit  and  a 
transcending  of  the  command,  "Love  thy  neighbor  as 
thyself, ' '  for  no  man  would  voluntarily  have  gone  out 
into  that  Golgotha  on  a  mission  of  his  own. 

So  it  is  the  duty  of  the  ummiformed  soldiers  who 
have  fought  the  good  fight  here  at  home,  whether  by 
sweating  under  the  blazing  sun  to  see  that  the  armies 
were  fed,  or  by  denying  themselves  to  furnish  funds 
or  by  more  direct  forms  of  service,  to  cultivate  that 
same  conception  of  oneness  with  the  fighting  man, 
that  readiness  to  stand  by  him  and  for  him,  to  rescue 
him  and  aid  him  in  disaster,  to  march  side  by  side  with 
him  in  fair  weather  as  in  foul.  The  disabled  man 
who  is  putting  up  a  glorious  fight  against  adverse  cir- 
cumstances must  not  be  allowed  to  perish  out  in  the 
No  Man's  Land  of  selfish  indifference  here  at  home. 
We  must  be  as  ready  for  rescue  as  the  powder- 
grimed,  bloody  fighters  in  the  advanced  trenches.  "We 
have  no  bullets  to  face,  no  shells,  no  mines,  but  the 
barbed  entanglements  of  selfishness,  the  insidious 
poison  gas  of  indifference,  we  must  fight  across  and 
over  and  under  and  against  every  day  —  a  Hinden- 
berg  Line  it  is  the  achievement  of  some  few  of  us 
finally  to  vanquish. 

Such  should  be  the  attitude  toward  the  disabled 
man.  He  is  our  brother,  our  more  privileged  com- 
rade, and  by  proxy  the  man  to  whom  was  given  the 
power  and  the  glory  of  doing  on  the  actual  battlefield 

286 


A  SUSTAINED  PUBLIC  SENTIMENT 

what  all  of  us  in  our  hearts  fervently  wished  we  could 
do.  We  should  not  overwhelm  him  with  ill-considered 
adulation  for  a  while  and  then  forget  him,  or  turn  his 
head  with  flattery  for  having  done  his  duty ;  but  there 
should  be  accorded  him  that  brotherly  recognition  that 
is  deeper  and  more  lasting  than  the  mere  enthusiastic 
acclaim  given  returning,  successful  warriors  to  the 
home  and  headquarters  of  the  real  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic,  of  which  every  loyal  citizen  is  upon  the 
muster  rolls. 


287 


CHAPTER  XXV 

THE  LARGE  PROBLEM  :  SALVAGING  THE  DISABLED  OF 
INDUSTRY 

Industry  takes  annually  as  great  a  toll  of  man  power  as  war 
on  a  colossal  scale  —  Fourteen  thousand  annually  perma- 
nently crippled  in  industry  —  Additional  ravages  of  tuber- 
culosis and  occupational  diseases  —  Estimates  of  specific 
disabilities  —  Total  loss  of  man  power  through,  non-fatal 
industrial  accidents  —  The  organization  for  vocational  re- 
habilitation of  the  war  disabled  to  be  devoted  to  its  sal- 
vage —  The  movement  in  "  Congress  —  The  pending  legis- 
lation. 

If  the  United  States  maintained  an  army  of  1,500,- 
000  men  in  the  field,  year  after  year,  and  this  army 
was  engaged  in  constant  hostilities,  its  annual  output 
of  permanently  incapacitating  disablements  would 
just  about  equal  the  number  of  those  resulting  annu- 
ally from  industrial  accidents,  despite  the  advance 
made  in  safeguarding  workers,  and  despite  the  con- 
stant preaching  of  "safety  first"  to  the  workers 
themselves. 

The  estimate  of  14,000  industrial  accidents  resulting 
in  permanent  disablement  annually  does  not  take  into 
consideration  the  ravages  of  tuberculosis.  This  dis- 
ease is  recognized  as  having  in  many  cases  a  direct, 
causal  relation  to  conditions  of  employment  or  to  con- 
ditions of  living  for  which  wage  standards  and  other 
conditions  of  employment  are  responsible.  The  Army 
recognizes  tuberculosis  as  a  cause  of  permanent  dis- 
ability and  discharges  men  who  have  contracted  it  as 
unfit  for  military  service.  If  tuberculosis  and  other 

288 


THE  DISABLED  OF  INDUSTKY 

occupational  diseases  were  counted  as  permanent  dis- 
abilities, it  would  be  found  that  the  annual  output  of 
permanently  disabled  from  industry  would  equal,  if 
it  did  not  considerably  exceed,  that  from  an  army  of 
more  than  2,000,000  men  in  active  campaigning.  We 
are  appalled  at  the  wastage  of  war,  yet  we  are  sub- 
jected to  an  annual  drain  upon  our  man  and  woman 
power  in  profound  peace  equals  to  that  created  by 
a  colossal  army  engaged  wholly  in  the  business  of 
destruction. 

The  above  estimate  of  the  number  of  industrial  crip- 
ples was  arrived  at  from  the  industrial-accident 
reports  of  seven  important  states — Massachusetts, 
New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Wisconsin,  California 
and  Washington,  the  figures  covering  in  most  cases  a 
period  of  three  years.  The  injuries  taken  for  the 
purposes  of  the  estimate  are  amputations  of  arms, 
hands,  legs  and  feet,  total  loss  of  sight  of  one  or  both 
eyes,  and  permanent  impairment  of  the  use  of  these 
members  to  the  extent  of  more  than  50  per  cent.  In 
order  to  make  the  estimate  applicable  to  the  entire 
United  States,  the  computation  was  made  upon  the 
basis  of  the  ratio  of  the  permanent  disabilities  to  the 
number  of  industrial  fatalities.  This  was  adopted  as 
the  most  suitable  basis  as  there  is  a  reasonably  accu- 
rate estimate  of  the  number  of  industrial  fatalities. 
On  this  basis  of  22,500  industrial  fatalities  each  year, 
the  estimates  of  annual  permanent  disablements  are 
as  follows :  loss  of  arm,  810 ;  loss  of  hand,  1,310 ;  loss 
of  leg  or  foot,  1,600;  loss  of  eye  or  of  sight,  4,981; 
and  of  permanent  impairments  of  more  than  50  per 
cent.:  arm,  930;  hand,  3,000;  leg,  680;  foot,  540; 
eye,  74;  making  a  total  of  13,900,  or  approximately 

289 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

14,000  permanent  disabilities  of  all  kinds  among 
American  wage  earners.  The  statistics  of  industrial 
injuries  show  the  average  age  of  injured  wage  earners 
as  between  30  and  33  years.  It  may  reasonably  be  as- 
sumed that  these  industrial  cripples  might  continue  to 
be  wage  earners  for  a  period  of  20  years,  and  this  re- 
sult gives  the  approximate  number  of  the  industrial 
cripples  existing  at  present  as  280,000.  There  are  cer- 
tainly a  considerable  number  disabled  by  injuries 
other  than  those  specified  above,  who  would  be  equally 
handicapped  if  they  desired  to  return  as  industrial 
wage  earners  in  their  former  occupations;  the  total 
of  existing  industrial  disabled  may  safely  be  consid- 
ered as  nearer  325,000. 

Testifying  before  the  Joint  Committee  on  Education 
and  Labor  of  House  and  Senate  on  December  11, 1918, 
when  the  Bankhead-Smith  bill  for  the  rehabilitation 
of  the  industrially  disabled  was  under  consideration, 
Mr.  Arthur  E.  Holder,  member  of  the  Federal  Board 
for  labor,  said  in  part : 

During  the  last  five  years,  ending  December  31,  1917, 
65,327  men  —  no  women  included  —  in  the  mines,  quarries 
and  on  the  railroads  of  the  United  States  have  been  killed, 
and  980,764  have  been  permanently  injured;  13,065  were 
killed  annually  and  196,153  disabled  —  this  from  three  of 
the  most  hazardous  occupations.  The  other  two  are  long- 
shoremen and  structural  steel  workers. 

REPRESENTATIVE  TOWNER:  I  am  told  that  the  industrial 
accidents  of  the  United  States  alone,  within  the  last  25 
years,  annually  totaled  greater  than  all  the  wars  that  had 
occurred  in  that  period  in  all  the  world. 

MB.  HOLDER  :  The  only  really  accurate  data  we  have  is  in 
regard  to  mining  and  transportation.  For  the  five-year 
period  ending  December,  1917,  a  total  of  16,526  workmen 
were  killed  and  49,000  injured  in  our  mines  and  quarries. 

290 


THE  DISABLED  OF  INDUSTRY 

For  the  same  period  the  railroads  of  the  United  States 
killed  48,801  and  injured  931,764.  Of  the  killed  and  in- 
jured more  than  seven  out  of  eight  were  railroad  employees. 
My  authority  for  these  figures  for  mines  and  quarries  comes 
from  the  Bureau  of  Mines  of  the  United  States  Department 
of  the  Interior ;  and  as  to  transportation  accidents,  from  the 
safety  division  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission. 

The  work  of  retraining  the  disabled  soldiers  and 
sailors  will  obviously  come  to  an  end  in  a  few  months 
or  years.  Meanwhile,  there  will  have  been  perfected 
an  organization  highly  skilled  in  the  process  of  sal- 
vaging the  residual  capacities  of  men.  Shall  it  be 
disbanded,  scrapped,  just  as  its  accumulated  experi- 
ence in  handling  thousands  of  cases  has  brought  it  to 
the  highest  point  of  efficiency?  With  its  vast  poten- 
tialities for  the  alleviation  of  human  misery  and  the 
banishment  of  poverty,  shall  it  be  thrown  aside  when 
there  is  so  much  yet  to  do?  By  no  means!  It  will 
be  devoted  to  the  rescue  and  vocational  rehabilitation 
of  those  victims  of  industrial  processes  who  otherwise 
would  remain  human  wrecks  and  economic  burdens. 

This  idea  came  immediately  to  the  fore  when  the 
original  Vocational  Rehabilitation  bill  for  soldiers  and 
sailors  was  in  process  of  drafting  and  enactment  in 
Congress.  There  were  numerous  proposals  to  tack 
upon  the  measure  amendments  providing  for  the  coin- 
cident vocational  training  of  the  industrially  disabled. 
These  amendments  were  withheld  upon  the  earnest 
representations  of  the  proponents  and  friends  of  the 
original  measure,  who  felt  that  the  bill  should  not  be 
overloaded  or  too  great  a  task  undertaken  at  once. 
They  feared  that  to  add  the  care  of  industrially 
disabled  to  the  restoration  of  the  war  disabled  would 

291 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

make  a  work  of  such  stupendous  character  that  diffi- 
culty would  be  encountered  in  getting  under  way  at 
a  time  when  speed  was  essential.  Accordingly  the 
original  bill  went  through,  and  under  it  the  Federal 
Board  for  Vocational  Education  began  functioning 
as  the  agency  for  the  redemption  of  the  war  disabled. 
The  measure  was  signed  by  the  President  on  June  27, 
1918.  In  the  first  week  of  September  disabled  soldiers 
were  being  placed  for  retraining,  and  by  December  31, 
1918,  3,600  cases  had  been  handled  by  the  Federal 
Board,  with  a  rapidly  growing  list  of  applications. 

When  the  organization  for  vocational  rehabilitation 
of  disabled  soldiers  and  sailors  was  well  under  way, 
so  that  the  addition  of  non-military  cases  could  be 
handled  without  detriment  to  the  first  claim  of  the 
war  disabled,  the  friends  of  the  project  for  the  voca- 
tional rehabilitation  of  the  disabled  of  industry  united 
upon  a  measure  which  was  simultaneously  introduced 
in  the  House  by  Representative  William  B.  Bankhead 
of  Alabama  and  in  the  Senate  by  Senator  Hoke  Smith 
of  Georgia  on  September  4,  1918.  Its  provisions  are 
quoted  in  extenso: 

That  in  order  to  provide  for  the  promotion  or  vocational 
rebibilitation  of  persons  disabled  in  occupations  or  otherwise 
and  their  return  to  civil  employment,  there  is  hereby  appro- 
priated for  the  use  of  the  States,  subject  to  the  pi-ovisions 
of  this  Act,  for  the  purpose  of  cooperating  with  them  in 
the  maintenance  of  vocational  rehabilitation  of  such  dis- 
abled persons,  and  in  returning  vocationally  rehabilitated 
persons  to  civil  employment,  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June 
thirtieth,  nineteen  hundred  and  nineteen,  the  sum  of 
$500,000;  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  thirtieth,  nine- 
teen hundred  and  twenty,  the  sum  of  $750,000;  for  the 
fiscal  year  ending  June  thirtieth,  nineteen  hundred  and 

292 


THE  DISABLED  OF  INDUSTRY 

twenty-one,  and  annually  thereafter,  the  sum  of  $1,000,000. 
Said  sums  shall  be  allotted  to  the  States  in  the  proportion 
which  their  population  bears  to  the  total  population  in  the 
United  States,  not  including  Territories,  outlying  posses- 
sions, and  the  District  of  Columbia,  according  to  the  last 
preceding  United  States  census:  Provided,  That  the  allot- 
ment of  funds  to  any  State  shall  not  be  less  than  a  mini- 
mum of  $5,000  for  any  fiscal  year.  And  there  is  hereby 
appropriated  the  following  sum,  or  so  much  thereof  as  may 
be  needed,  which  shall  be  used  for  the  purpose  of  provid- 
ing the  minimum  allotment  to  the  States  provided  for  in 
this  section,  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  thirtieth,  nine- 
teen hundred  and  nineteen,  the  sum  of  $66,000;  for  the 
fiscal  year  ending  June  thirtieth,  nineteen  hundred  and 
twenty,  the  sum  of  $46,000 ;  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June 
thirtieth,  nineteen  hundred  and  twenty-one,  and  annually 
thereafter,  the  sum  of  $34,000. 

SEC.  2.  That  in  order  to  secure  the  benefits  of  the  appro- 
priations provided  by  section  one,  any  State  shall,  through 
the  legislative  authority  thereof,  (1)  accept  the  provisions 
of  this  Act;  (2)  empower  and  direct  the  board  designated 
or  created  as  the  State  board  for  vocational  education  to 
cooperate  in  the  administration  of  the  provisions  of  the 
vocational  education  Act  approved  February  twenty-third, 
nineteen  hundred  and  seventeen,  to  cooperate  as  herein  pro- 
vided with  the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education  in 
the  administration  of  the  provisions  of  this  Act;  (3)  in 
those  States  where  a  State  workmen's  compensation  board, 
or  other  State  board,  department,  or  agency  exists,  charged 
with  the  administration  of  the  State  workmen's  compensa- 
tion or  liability  laws,  the  legislature  shall  provide  that  a 
plan  of  cooperation  be  formulated  between  such  State 
board,  department,  or  agency,  and  the  State  board  charged 
with  the  administration  of  this  Act,  such  plan  to  be  effective 
when  approved  by  the  governor  of  the  State;  (4)  provide 
for  the  supervision  and  support  of  the  courses  of  voca- 
tional rehabilitation  to  be  provided  by  the  State  board  in 
carrying  out  the  provisions  of  this  Act;  (5)  appoint  as 
custodian  for  said  appropriations  its  State  treasurer,  who 

293 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

shall  receive  and  provide  for  the  proper  custody  and  dis- 
bursement of  all  money  paid  to  the  State  from  said  appro- 
priations. 

All  moneys  expended  under  the  provisions  of  this  Act 
from  appropriations  provided  by  section  one  shall  be  upon 
the  condition  (1)  that  for  each  dollar  of  Federal  money 
expended  there  shall  be  expended  in  the  State,  under  the 
supervision  and  control  of  the  State  board,  at  least  an 
equal  amount  for  the  same  purpose:  Provided,  That  no 
portion  of  the  appropriation  made  by  this  Act  shall  be  used 
by  any  institution  for  handicapped  persons  except  for  the 
special  training  of  such  individuals  entitled  to  the  benefits 
of  this  Act  as  shall  be  determined  by  the  Federal  board; 
(2)  that  the  State  board  shall  annually  submit  to  the  Fede- 
ral board  for  approval  plans  showing  (a)  the  kinds  of 
vocational  rehabilitation  and  schemes  of  placement  for 
which  it  is  proposed  the  appropriation  shall  be  used,  (b) 
the  plan  of  administration  and  supervision,  (c)  courses  of 
study,  (d)  methods  of  instruction,  (e)  qualifications  of 
teachers,  supervisors,  directors,  and  other  necessary  admin- 
istrative officers  or  employees,  (f)  plans  for  the  training 
of  teachers,  supervisors,  and  directors  (3)  that  the  State 
board  shall  make  an  annual  report  to  the  Federal  board 
on  or  before  September  first  of  each  year  on  the  work  done 
in  the  State,  and  on  the  receipts  and  expenditures  of  money 
under  the  provisions  of  this  Act;  (4)  that  no  portion  of 
any  moneys  appropriated  by  this  Act  for  the  benefit  of  the 
States  shall  be  applied,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  the  pur- 
chase, preservation,  erection,  or  repair  of  any  building  or 
buildings,  or  equipment,  or  for  the  purchase  or  rental  of 
any  lands;  (5)  that  all  courses  for  vocational  rehabilita- 
tion given  under  the  supervision  and  control  of  the  State 
board  and  that  all  courses  for  vocational  rehabilitation 
maintained  shall  be  available,  under  such  rules  and  regula- 
tions as  the  Federal  board  shall  prescribe,  to  any  civil 
employee  of  the  United  States  disabled  while  in  the  per- 
formance of  his  duty. 

SEC.  3.  That  the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Educa- 
tion shall  have  power  to  cooperate  with  the  State  boards 

294 


THE  DISABLED  OF  INDUSTRY 

in  carrying  out  the  purposes  and  provisions  of  this  Act,  and 
is  hereby  authorized  to  make  and  establish  such  rules  and 
regulations  as  may  be  necessary  or  appropriate  to  carry 
into  effect  the  provisions  of  this  Act  and  to  provide  for 
the  vocational  rehabilitation  of  disabled  persons  and  their 
return  to  civil  employment.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  said 
board  (1)  to  examine  plans  submitted  by  the  State  boards 
and  approve  the  same  if  believed  to  be  feasible  and  found 
to  be  in  conformity  with  the  provisions  and  purposes  of 
this  Act;  (2)  to  ascertain  annually  whether  the  several 
States  are  using  or  are  prepared  to  use  the  money  received 
by  them  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  this  Act;  (3) 
to  certify  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  January  of  each 
year  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  each  State  which  has 
accepted  the  provisions  of  this  Act  and  complied  therewith, 
together  with  the  amount  which  each  State  is  entitled  to 
receive  under  the  provisions  of  this  Act;  (4)  to  deduct 
from  the  next  succeeding  allotment  of  any  State,  whenever 
any  portion  of  the  fund  annually  allotted  has  not  been 
expended  for  the  purpose  provided  for  in  this  Act,  a  sum 
equal  to  such  unexpended  portion;  (5)  to  withhold  the  allot- 
ment of  moneys  to  any  State  whenever  it  shall  be  deter- 
mined that  moneys  allotted  are  not  being  expended  for  the 
purposes  and  conditions  of  this  Act;  (6)  to  require  the  re- 
placement, by  withholding  subsequent  allotments,  of  any 
portion  of  the  moneys  received  by  the  custodian  of  any 
State  under  this  Act  that  by  any  action  or  contingency  is 
diminished  or  lost:  Provided,  That  if  any  allotment  is 
withheld  from  any  State,  the  State  board  of  such  State  may 
appeal  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  if  the 
Congress  shall  not  direct  such  sum  to  be  paid,  it  shall  be 
covered  into  the  Treasury. 

SEC.  4.  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  upon  the 
certification  of  the  Federal  board  as  provided  in  this  Act, 
shall  pay  quarterly  to  the  custodian  of  each  State  ap- 
pointed as  herein  provided  the  moneys  to  which  it  is  entitled 
under  the  provisions  of  this  Act.  The  money  so  received 
by  the  custodian  for  any  State  snail  be  paid  out  on  the 
requisition  of  the  State  board  as  reimbursement  for  services 

295 


REDEMPTION  OP  THE  DISABLED 

already  rendered  or  expenditures  already  incurred  and 
approved  by  said  State  board.  The  Federal  Board  for 
Vocational  Education  shall  make  an  annual  report  to 
Congress  on  or  before  December  first  on  the  administration 
of  this  Act,  and  shall  include  in  such  report  the  reports 
made  by  the  State  boards  on  the  administration  of  this  Act 
by  each  State  and  the  expenditures  of  the  money  allotted 
to  each  State. 

SEC.  5.  That  there  is  hereby  appropriated  to  the  Federal 
Board  for  Vocational  Education  the  sum  of  $200,000  annu- 
ally for  the  purpose  of  making  studies,  investigations,  and 
reports  regarding  the  vocational  rehabilitation  of  disabled 
persons  and  their  placements  in  suitable  or  gainful  occu- 
pations and  for  the  administrative  expenses  of  said  board 
incident  to  performing  the  duties  imposed  by  this  Act,  in- 
cluding salaries  of  such  assistants,  experts,  clerks,  and  other 
employees  in  the  District  of  Columbia  or  elsewhere  as  the 
board  may  deem  necessary,  actual  traveling  and  other  neces- 
sary expenses  incurred  by  the  members  of  the  board  and 
by  its  employees,  under  its  orders,  including  attendance  at 
meetings  of  educational  associations  and  other  organiza- 
tions, rent  and  equipment  of  offices  in  the  District  of 
Columbia  and  elsewhere,  purchase  of  books  of  reference, 
law  books  and  periodicals,  stationery,  typewriters  and 
exchange  thereof,  miscellaneous  supplies,  postage  on  for- 
eign mail,  printing  and  binding,  to  be  done  at  the  Govern- 
ment Printing  Office,  and  all  other  necessary  expenses. 

SEC.  6.  That  the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Educa- 
tion is  hereby  authorized  and  empowered  to  receive  such 
gifts  and  donations  from  either  public  or  private  sources 
as  may  be  offered  unconditionally.  All  moneys  received 
as  gifts  or  donations  shall  be  paid  into  the  Treasury  of  the 
United  States,  and  shall  constitute  a  permanent  fund,  to 
be  called  the  "  Special  fund  for  vocational  rehabilitation 
of  persons  disabled  in  industry,"  to  be  used  under  the  direc- 
tion of  said  board,  to  defray  the  expenses  of  providing  and 
maintaining  courses  of  vocational  rehabilitation  in  special 
cases,  including  the  payment  of  necessary  expenses  of  per- 
sons undergoing  training.  A  full  report  of  all  gifts  and 

296 


THE  DISABLED  OF  INDUSTRY 

donations  offered  and  accepted,  together  with  the  names  of 
the  donors  and  the  respective  amounts  contributed  by  each, 
and  all  disbursements  therefrom,  shall  be  submitted  an- 
nually to  Congress  by  said  board. 

The  measure  has  the  approval  of  the  Administra- 
tion, it  is  regarded  almost  without  exception  by  mem- 
bers of  Congress  as  highly  desirable,  and  of  course  it 
has  the  hearty  approval  of  organized  labor.  At  the 
hearings  on  December  9-11,  1918,  the  Committee  on 
Education  and  Labor  had  before  it  as  witnesses  repre- 
sentatives of  state  compensation  boards,  state  boards 
for  vocational  education,  the  American  Federation  of 
Labor,  the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers,  the 
National  Manufacturers'  Association,  the  National 
Anti-Tuberculosis  Society,  the  American  Museum  of 
Safety,  the  United  States  Employees  Compensation 
Commission,  and  the  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics  of  the 
Department  of  Labor,  as  well  as  members  of  the  Fed- 
eral Board  for  Vocational  Education  and  employees 
of  that  Board.  The  hearings  extended  over  three 
days.  Opponents  of  the  measure  were  called  for  and 
invited  to  present  objections.  None  appeared. 

The  hearings  developed  that  not  less  than  three- 
quarters  of  a  million  casualties  occur  among  wage 
earners  in  all  occupations  each  year,  and  there  was 
testimony  to  show  that  at  present  there  are  not  less 
than  500,000  persons  of  working  age  who  are  suffering 
from  permanent  vocational  handicaps.  "With  the  ex- 
ceptions of  a  few  experiments  by  private  agencies,  no 
provision,  public  or  private,  has  ever  been  made  in  this 
country  for  retraining  and  placing  industrially  handi- 
capped persons.  The  Committee  report  to  Congress 
says : 

297 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

These  people,  without  this  help  have  been  doomed  to 
mendicancy  or  dependency,  or  casual  and  uncertain  em- 
ployment, or  employment  in  low-grade  positions  in  which 
they  eke  out  an  unhappy  existence.  The  loss  to  the  man 
and  his  dependents  is  great,  but  in  the  aggregate,  the  loss 
to  the  Nation  in  man  power,  in  undeveloped  skill  and  talent 
and  in  the  support  of  dependency  is  enormous.  .  .  . 

Practically  every  one  of  the  great  army  of  handicapped 
men  in  our  midst  could  be  made  a  national  asset  instead  of 
liability.  The  expenditure  annually  of  a  small  amount  of 
money  among  the  states  by  the  National  Government  would 
be  a  wise  investment,  yielding  annually  large  and  rich 
dividends  in  increased  earning  power  for  the  individual, 
with  all  this  means  in  comfort  and  happiness  for  himself 
and  his  dependents,  and  increased  economic  and  social 
efficiency  and  wellbeing  for  the  Nation.  ...  In  our 
highly  specialized  modern  industrial  life  with  its  minute 
division  of  employment  and  tasks,  it  is  possible,  therefore, 
for  practically  every  handicapped  man  under  an  intelligent 
programme  of  vocational  rehabilitation  to  discharge  ac- 
ceptably some  task  as  a  full  substitute  for  a  normal  man. 
In  each  individual  case  the  problem  is  simply  one  of  select- 
ing the  right  employment  and  training  for  it.  ...  To 
continue  to  neglect  the  development  and  utilizati6n  of  the 
great  human  resources  of  the  army  of  handicapped  people, 
increasing  in  sLze  each  year  with  the  growth  of  our  popula- 
tion, is  a  national  folly.  .  .  .  Clearly,  if  it  was  wise  as 
a  business  investment  and  as  a  policy  of  national  conserva- 
tion of  human  resources  to  provide  for  the  instruction  and 
full  support  of  disabled  soldiers  and  sailors  at  the  expense 
of  the  National  Government  it  is  equally  wise  and  equitable 
that  the  National  Government  shall  provide  annually  a 
much  smaller  sum  of  money  to  enable  the  states  to  in- 
augurate and  maintain  a  plan  of  vocational  instruction  for 
that  much  larger  army  of  persons  who  become  disabled 
through  no  fault  of  their  own  in  the  performance  of  duties 
necessary  to  the  comfort  and  prosperity  of  the  country. 

The  report  goes  on  to  say  that  this  is  the  third  and 
necessarily  final  step  in  a  programme  of  nation-wide 

298 


THE  DISABLED  OF  INDUSTRY 

vocational  education  initiated  by  the  Vocational  Edu- 
cation Act  of  February,  1917,  for  the  normal  boys  and 
girls  and  men  and  women  employed  in  wage-earning 
occupations.  Those  same  benefits  have  now  been  ex- 
tended to  the  men  who  have  been  handicapped  as  a 
result  of  their  service  in  Army  or  Navy.  It  is  pointed 
out  that  the  time  is  peculiarly  opportune  for  the  enact- 
ment of  the  measure ;  that  public  sentiment  has  become 
focused  on  the  need  for  conservation  of  our  human 
resources  and  convinced  of  the  worth  of  such  work. 
The  Committee  then  reported  the  bill  favorably  and 
recommended  its  passage,  the  report  being  presented 
to  the  Congress  on  December  11,  1918. 

Thus  will  have  been  accomplished  the  transition  of 
a  war-emergency  measure  into  a  settled  policy  of  this 
Government,  which  is  of  infinite  capacity  for  good, 
viewed  from  every  possible  angle  —  a  species  of 
paternalism  against  which  no  objection  can  be  urged. 
The  after  effects  upon  our  industrial  life  are 
incalculable. 


299 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE  PLACE  OF  THE  STATES  IN  THE  PROGRAMME 

Early  state  projects  for  disabled  soldiers  —  Industrial  surveys 
— State  activity  suspended  on  enactment  of  the  Vocational 
Rehabilitation  Act  —  Opportunities  for  state  cooperation 

—  Suspension    of    civil    actions    against    disabled    men  — 
Assistance  in  placement  —  Reclamation  of  \vaste  lands  for 
farm  communities  —  Assistance  in  the  purchase  of  farms 

—  Tenancy  the  cause  of  the  drift  from  the  land  —  Place- 
ment of  the  reeducated  disabled  of  industry  a  state  func- 
tion —  Its  relation  to  the  land  problem  —  Conclusion. 

Soon  after  the  declaration  of  a  state  of  war  with 
Germany,  several  of  the  states,  through  individual 
officials,  announced  Utopian  programmes  for  the  re- 
turned disabled  soldiers.  In  the  early  months  of  the 
war  these  announcements  appeared  from  time  to  time, 
stimulated  perhaps  by  the  imminence  of  elections  or 
political  campaigns.  Sifting  the  matter  down  to 
essentials,  however,  it  may  be  said  that  practically 
nothing  of  fundamental  value  has  been  done  by  the 
states.  Some  so-called  surveys  of  industries  were 
made  to  ascertain  what  avenues  of  employment  were 
open  to  returned,  disabled  men.  The  number  of 
affirmative  answers  from  employers  was  astonishingly 
large,  but  they  are  hardly  to  be  taken  as  more  than  a 
manifestation  of  patriotism.  They  showed  a  thor- 
oughly commendable  spirit  in  the  employers  of  labor, 
but  one  based,  in  the  main,  upon  the  wholly  wrong 
conception  that  these  men  were  to  be  employed  as  a 
matter  of  charity  or  favor.  The  employers  seemed 
largely  to  regard  their  promises  of  employment  as 

300 


THE  STATES  IN  THE  PROGRAMME 

agreements  to  place  upon  their  payrolls  a  certain 
number  of  incompetents  as  a  reward  for  what  the 
disabled  men  had  suffered  for  their  country. 

The  passage  of  the  Vocational  Rehabilitation  Act 
by  Congress  put  a  quietus  on  state  effort  and  the 
announcement  of  state  benefits  for  the  returned  men. 
Since  then  little  has  been  heard  of  any  particular  plans 
of  any  of  the  states  for  their  soldier-sons  who  may  re- 
turn disabled.  In  truth,  there  is  not  very  much  that 
the  state  can  do  for  the  disabled  man  until  after  his 
vocational  retraining  is  completed.  The  National 
Government  educates  the  disabled  man,  pays  him  and 
makes  an  allowance  to  his  family  while  he  is  taking 
the  course,  and  places  him  in  a  job  after  he  has  been 
fitted  for  it.  Nevertheless,  there  are  several  ways  in 
which  the  various  states  can  aid  in  the  programme  of 
rehabilitation. 

The  Federal  allowance  to  the  man  and  his  family 
while  he  is  undergoing  training  educationally  is 
thought  to  be  liberal  and  sufficient,  and  it  is  far  more 
liberal  than  that  of  any  other  belligerent  nation. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  quite  conceivable  that  in  many  in- 
stances it  will  not  be  adequate.  Sickness  may  over- 
take the  family,  death  occur,  or  extraordinary  and 
unlooked-for  expenses  unavoidably  arise.  From  many 
causes  necessary  debts  may  have  to  be  contracted  while 
the  father  is  away  on  active  service.  If  the  head 
of  such  a  family  is  retrained  for  some  salaried  em- 
ployment, it  is  not  maligning  human  nature  too  much 
to  say  that  as  soon  as  he  obtains  a  job,  and  perhaps 
before  he  can  "make  a  pay  day,"  he  will  very  likely 
be  subjected  to  court  summonses,  judgments,  garnish- 
ments and  all  the  other  legal  bedevilments.  Possibly 

301 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

as  a  consequence  he  may  be  discharged  by  his  em- 
ployer, who  has  something  else  to  do  besides  answering 
garnishments  and  the  importunities  of  collection 
sharks. 

The  states  can  take  steps  to  protect  the  returned 
soldier  against  such  contingencies  and  give  him  a 
fighting  chance  to  get  on  his  feet  in  civil  life  again. 
The  uniform  protects  him  while  he  is  in  the  Army, 
but  it  would  be  the  acme  of  folly  to  have  his  reeduca- 
tion and  placement  nullified  by  the  act  of  grasping 
creditors  and  their  legal  harpies.  Some  state  action 
should  undoubtedly  be  taken.  The  Army  pay  and 
family  allowance  is  sufficient  for  only  a  bare  living  of 
the  plainest  sort,  and  many  families  who  had  been 
accustomed  to  comfortable  living  have  undoubtedly 
found  it  impossible  to  keep  strictly  within  it,  with  the 
purchasing  power  of  the  dollar  steadily  shrinking. 
The  people  who  profiteered  in  the  food  the  soldier's 
Army  pay  and  allowances  were  inadequate  to  furnish, 
or  in  his  rent  or  the  other  necessities  of  his  family, 
will  not  hesitate  to  try  to  grab  the  first  dollar  he  makes 
when  he  is  a  citizen  again.  The  man  who  shed  his 
blood  that  these  creatures  might  be  protected  safely 
at  home  should  certainly  be  protected  against  them 
and  allowed  a  chance  to  get  a  start  once  again.  In 
this  field  the  states  may  find  an  opportunity  for 
great  usefulness,  as  it  is  peculiarly  a  matter  for  state 
regulation. 

The  states  through  their  proper  authorities  can  act 
with  the  United  States  Department  of  Labor  and  the 
Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education  in  endeavor- 
ing to  find  places  for  the  reeducated  men  in  the  trades, 
industries  and  occupations  for  which  these  men  have 

302 


THE  STATES  IN  THE  PROGRAMME 

qualified  themselves.  The  states  can  cooperate  with 
the  Federal  authorities  in  giving  the  gallant  fellows 
opportunity  to  work,  and  perhaps  can  aid  further  by 
remitting  to  them  such  privilege  or  occupation  taxes 
as  may  be  levied  upon  their  trades  or  callings. 

The  greatest  possible  field  of  usefulness  for  the 
states  is  in  taking  steps  to  assist  their  returned,  dis- 
abled soldiers  to  acquire  land  for  homes  and  for  farm- 
ing purposes.  In  many  of  the  states  there  are  im- 
mense areas  of  perfectly  good  lands  uncultivated,  such 
as  the  cut-over  pine  lands  of  the  South  and  the  logged 
lands  of  the  East  and  of  the  Northwest.  In  the  main 
these  lands  are  owned  by  large  lumber  corporations 
or  absentee  landlords,  are  assessed  at  small  fractions 
of  their  value,  and  bring  a  correspondingly  small  re- 
turn to  the  states  in  the  way  of  taxes.  The  states 
should  provide  for  the  acquisition  of  large  tracts  of 
these  lands,  not  too  remote  from  railroads  or  existing 
towns ;  the  law  of  eminent  domain  should  be  invoked 
and  the  lands  condemned  for  public  use  at  the  valua- 
tions on  which  they  have  been  assessed  for  years. 

These  tracts  should  be  surveyed  into  20-,  40-  and 
60-acre  farms.  Good  roads  should  be  constructed 
through  the  territory,  and  the  farm  homes  grouped  in 
neighborhoods  or  villages,  which  could  easily  be  ar- 
ranged if  the  farms  were  surveyed  as  the  spokes  of  a 
wheel  radiate  from  a  hub,  the  hub  in  this  case  being 
the  village  or  center.  Good,  comfortable  houses  and 
barns  should  be  constructed,  preferably  of  reinforced 
concrete,  to  reduce  fire  risk  and  for  warmth  in  winter 
and  coolness  in  summer,  as  well  as  for  durability. 
Adequate  water  systems  should  be  constructed,  either 
for  the  community  or  for  the  individual  places.  The 

303 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

land  should  be  cleared  of  stumps,  fenced,  and  put  in 
tillable  condition. 

These  little  farms  should  be  sold  to  the  soldiers  who 
have  been  reeducated  for  farming  and  who  want  to 
get  back  on  the  land.  The  sales  should  be  made  on 
the  basis  of  annual  payments  extending  over  20  or  25 
years  or  possibly  longer,  with  no  payments  required 
for  the  first  two  years.  A  tax  of  one  mill  on  each 
taxable  dollar  in  the  less  wealthy  states,  and  probably 
a  half-mill  in  the  richer  states,  would  provide  a  fund 
for  this  purpose,  which  in  a  few  years  would  begin 
to  flow  back  into  the  states'  coffers,  to  be  utilized  again 
in  the  same  manner  for  the  benefit  of  the  industrial 
cripples  who  will  have  been  reeducated  for  farming 
or  allied  pursuits.  The  law  should  provide  that  the 
places  cannot  be  resold.  If  the  tenant  should  desire 
to  leave,  he  should  be  compensated  by  the  state  for 
the  improvement  he  has  brought  to  the  land,  the  fix- 
tures he  has  put  on  it,  the  fruit  trees  he  has  planted, 
and  the  same  idea  should  prevail  in  the  settlement  of 
estates  of  decedents.  But  the  title  should  remain  with 
the  state.  By  this  means  the  object  of  fixing  a  part 
of  the  population  upon  the  land  may  be  accomplished, 
and  the  speculators  and  profiteers  who  are  always 
ready  to  take  advantage  of  either  the  necessitous,  the 
improvident  or  the  restless  will  be  absolutely  barred. 
The  man  who  goes  on  the  place  may  remain  as  long  as 
he  lives,  and  if  his  children  or  his  widow  desire  to  con- 
tinue farming  it,  they  may  do  so  on  the  payment  of  a 
rental  which  should  just  about  cover  taxes  and  de- 
terioration ;  but  absolute  alienation  should  be  guarded 
against,  and  these  communities  held  by  the  states  as 
havens  for  their  citizens  who  have  fought  the  good 

304 


THE  STATES  IN  THE  PKOGRAMME 

fight,  in  either  the  military  or  the  industrial  army, 
rnd  who  by  tha  fortunes  of  war  have  been  incapaci- 
tated for  further  fighting.  This  is  a  wonderful  field 
for  creative  statesmanship. 

There  is  another  way  in  which  the  states  may  be 
of  assistance,  not  only  to  the  disabled  returned  soldier 
but  to  other  soldiers  as  well,  that  is  by  the  creation 
of  a  fund  which  may  be  loaned  to  those  who  desire  to 
acquire  small  farms,  and  from  which  they  may  be 
assisted  in  the  purchase  of  implements,  seeds  and 
stock  —  the  same  idea  as  that  underlying  the  Federal 
farm-loan  bank,  but  strictly  as  a  state  affair,  with  a 
modest  maximum  loan  and  with  the  procedure  simpli- 
fied so  that  it  will  not  be  such  a  monumental  sort  of 
undertaking  as  it  is  to  obtain  a  loan  from  the  Federal 
bank.  This  could  be  made  a  permanent  "revolving 
fund,"  much  on  the  order  of  a  building  and  loan 
association,  with  the  people  of  the  state  furnishing 
the  funds  to  be  loaned,  to  be  paid  back  minus  profits 
or  high  interest  or  any  except  the  bare  expenses  of 
administration  and  amortization. 

The  cry  from  all  over  the  country  is  for  land,  and 
at  the  same  time  there  is  scarcely  a  state  in  the  Union 
in  which  there  are  not  tremendous  areas  owned  by 
absentee  landlords  who  are  holding  the  land  for 
speculation  and  at  prices  all  out  of  proportion  to 
what  was  paid  for  it.  The  states  undoubtedly  have 
the  right  to  invoke  the  sovereign  power  of  eminent 
domain.  If  the  state  can  delegate  this  power  to  a 
railroad  for  the  public  good  therein  contained,  surely 
the  state  itself  can  employ  it  to  reacquire  its  soil  to 
be  used  for  the  general  good. 

There  has  been  a  steady  drift  away  from  the  farms 
305 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  DISABLED 

for  years.  It  has  been  because  the  people  who  live 
upon  the  farms  do  not  in  the  main  own  them.  They 
cannot  pay  the  rents  and  make  profits.  They  have  not 
the  incentive  to  improve  the  usually  squalid,  bare, 
unhomelike  houses  and  premises.  So  great  has  been 
the  drift  away  from  the  soil  that  only  by  the  utmost 
exertions,  only  by  shifting  labor  to  the  country  and 
enlisting  the  cooperation  of  former  agricultural  work- 
ers and  schoolboys  and  girls,  was  our  immense  agri- 
cultural domain  able  to  meet  the  food  crisis  of  1917 
and  1918.  It  is  time  for  the  states  to  be  considering 
this  question,  basing  their  consideration  upon  the 
fundamental  axiom  that  a  home-owning  citizen  is  a 
satisfied,  happy  and  valuable  citizen.  The  announced 
policy  of  the  Government  to  reeducate  the  disabled  of 
industry  is  going  to  throw  a  vast  new  problem  into 
the  hands  of  the  states  for  adjustment.  The  United 
States  Government  will  furnish  part  of  the  money 
for  reeducation,  but  the  actual  reeducating,  the  place- 
ment and  after-care  of  the  industrial  disabled  is  going 
to  be  strictly  a  state  problem.  And  these  people  must 
have  land  to  live  upon. 

The  bill  now  pending  in  Congress  for  the  rehabilita- 
tion of  the  disabled  of  industry  provides  that  the 
United  States  shall  appropriate  approximately  a 
million  dollars  annually,  to  be  distributed  on  a  basis 
of  population  engaged  in  industry  among  the  states 
agreeing  to  match  the  Federal  grant  dollar  for  dollar, 
the  funds  to  be  spent  under  the  direction  of  the 
Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education  in  the  voca- 
tional rehabilitation  of  those  who  have  been  perma- 
nently disabled  as  the  result  of  industrial  accident. 
Every  state  in  the  Union  is  going  to  accept  these  pro- 

306 


THE  STATES  IN  THE  PROGRAMME 

visions.  There  is  no  set  of  state  officials  or  legis- 
lators who  would  dare  face  an  outraged  constituency 
and  admit  helping  to  reject  the  Federal  grant.  Every 
worker  in  every  state  will  vote  solidly  for  the  men 
who  are  in  favor  of  accepting  it,  and  thus  putting 
the  state  in  the  march  of  progress  to  do  justice  to  its 
disabled  workers. 

The  placement  of  the  industrial  disabled  after  they 
are  reeducated  is  going  to  be  strictly  a  state  problem, 
and  it  will  inevitably  bring  forward  the  land  ques- 
tion. Many  of  the  disabled  of  industry  are  subject  to 
diseases  for  which  the  nature  of  their  occupations  is 
largely  responsible,  such  as  pulmonary  complaints 
among  textile  workers,  and  the  like.  These  people 
will  have  to  be  educated  for  open-air  occupations; 
after  they  are  educated,  where  are  they  going  to  exer- 
cise their  knowledge  and  training  ?  Not  on  the  public 
roads  or  commons  or  on  rented  land  at  rents  which 
squeeze  all  the  profit  out  of  their  endeavors!  They 
must  have  land,  and  they  will  have  land. 

Thus,  although  the  work  for  the  disabled  soldiers  is 
not  particularly  a  state  problem,  and  the  brunt  of  it 
is  being  borne  by  the  Federal  Government,  it  behooves 
the  states  to  begin  organizing  to  work  in  close  co- 
operation with  the  Federal  Government  in  order  to 
insure  the  maximum  of  benefit.  Furthermore,  the 
problem  of  taking  care  of  the  disabled  industrial 
workers  promises  to  be  a  live  issue  and  a  permanent 
one  in  every  state  that  has  an  appreciable  class  of 
workers  in  industry. 

Thus  do  we  progress.  "We  rose  to  heights  of  pure 
justice  in  securing  to  the  disabled  soldier  the  right  to 

307 


be  a  self-respecting,  self-supporting  citizen  instead  of 
a  pensioned  burden.  From  that  higher  plane  in  the 
larger  horizon  became  clear  the  rights  of  the  indus- 
trial workers  who,  as  ununiformed  soldiers  of  the 
common  good,  suffer  from  disabilities  and  injuries 
as  much  as  the  men  who  received  theirs  on  the  battle- 
field. It  was  plain  that  the  commonwealth  owed  them 
such  reparation  and  new  opportunity  as  it  could  con- 
trive. Congress  has  made  the  first  step  and  com- 
mitted the  Federal  Government,  as  a  settled  policy, 
to  the  financial  assistance  and  the  expert  direction 
and  supervision  of  the  vocational  rehabilitation  of  the 
disabled  of  industry.  The  states  have  been  invited 
to  come  in  and  bear  only  half  the  cost. 

Terrible  as  is  the  price  in  blood  and  treasure  we 
have  paid  for  upholding  our  ideals  in  France  and 
Belgium,  in  Italy  and  Russia,  such  results  for  the 
good  of  humanity  go  far  toward  balancing  the  ac- 
count. Had  not  the  war  forced  these  matters  upon 
our  attention,  it  is  doubtful  that  the  dawn  of  the  next 
generation  would  have  seen  them  as  completely  set- 
tled as  they  now  are,  or  the  public  mind  become  so 
generally  acquiescent  in  the  rights  of  the  individual 
and  the  duty  of  the  mass  to  the  disabled  member 
thereof. 


308 


INDEX 


Airplane  workers  trained  by 
Federal  Board  for  Voca- 
tional Education,  165. 

Allotments  and  allowances  to 
soldiers'  dependents,  181. 

American  Casualties,  55. 

American  Federation  cf  La- 
bor cooperates  to  obtain 
passage  of  rehabilitation 
law,  244;  endorses  rehabil- 
itation, 244. 

Amputation  cases,  average 
percentage  of,  57;  in  United 
States  forces,  13. 

Analysis  of  first  159  cases 
placed  for  reeducation,  225. 

Armistice  changes  medical 
conditions  in  army,  10. 

Artificial  aids  to  the  disabled, 
23. 

Australia,  establishes  soldiers' 
homes,  137;  furnishes  land 
for  her  soldiers,  136;  gov- 
ernment supplies  all  funds 
for  land  in,  138;  Bepatria- 
tion  Commission  of,  136; 
system  of  land  purchase 
and  financing  soldiers  of, 
138;  vocational  reeducation 
for  the  disabled  in,  137. 

Austria-Hungary,  118;  casual- 
ties of,  123 ;  military  au- 
thorities provide  medical 
eare  in,  118;  orthopaedic 
schools  in,  119;  placement 
of  disabled  men  in,  121; 
places  care  of  disabled  on 
states  of  the  Empire,  118; 
policy  of,  one  of  concentra- 
tion in  large  institutions, 
120. 

Automobile  drivers  and  mech- 
anicians trained  by  Fed- 


eral Board  for  Vocational 
Education,  165. 

Bankhead-Smith  bill  for  re- 
habilitation of  the  disabled 
of  industry,  committee  re- 
port on,  298;  hearings  on, 
297;  text  of,  292. 

Bedside  occupation,  206. 

Belgium,  "Home  University" 
for  disabled  men  opened  by, 
at  Paris,  76;  inception  of 
restoration  work  by,  at  St. 
Addresse,  France,  65 ;  re- 
construction camp  of,  at 
Port  Villez,  France,  68;  the 
pioneer  in  restoration  work, 
64;  plight  of  wounded  and 
exiled  of,  64. 

Benefits  of  rehabilitation  a 
beneficent  by-product  of 
war,  308. 

Best  interests  of  man  sole 
aim  in  rehabilitation  work, 
213. 

Blind,  American  cases,  num- 
ber of,  12,  56;  average  of, 
in  various  armies,  56 ;  treat- 
ment of,  in  United  States, 
12. 

Blindness  not  caused  by  poi- 
son gas,  56. 

Branch  offices  of  Federal 
Board  for  Vocational  Edu- 
cation, 211. 

Canada,  carualties  of,  134; 
continues  family  allowances 
while  retraining,  128;  De- 
partment of  Civil  Eeestab- 
lishment  of,  128;  facilities 
for  return  of  disabled  to  the 
land  in,  132;  first  in  Amer- 


309 


INDEX 


ica  to  reeducate  disabled 
soldiers,  124;  first  provi- 
sion for  wounded  in,  124 ;  in- 
ception of  vocational  reedu- 
cation in,  125;  Invalid  Sol- 
diers, Commission  of,  126, 
128 ;  makes  special  effort  to 
ascertain  wishes  of  disabled 
men,  130;  method  of  hand- 
ling returned  disabled  men 
in,  128;  Military  Hospitals, 
Commission  of,  124;  occu- 
pational therapy  in  the  hos- 
pitals in,  129;  offers  educa- 
tion free  but  without  main- 
tenance to  certain  classes  of 
soldiers,  132;  pensions  un- 
affected by  retraining  in, 
126;  placement  work  in, 
134 ;  reeducation  in,  limited 
to  disabled  who  cannot  re- 
sume former  occupations, 
127 ;  rehabilitation  system 
of,  124;  rehabilitation  work 
demilitarized  in,  126;  suc- 
cess of,  in  rehabilitation, 
257;  system  of,  a  practical 
evolution,  125 ;  utilization 
of  disabled  man's  family 
in,  129;  wounded  of,  given 
furloughs  to  visit  home, 
129;  wounded  of,  sent  to 
depot  nearest  home,  128. 

Casualties,  American,  55 ; 
Austro  -  Hungarian,  123 ; 
British,  58;  Canadian,  134; 
French,  90;  German,  116; 
Italian,  156. 

Central  Empires,  restoration 
work  in,  105. 

Charity  undesired  and  un- 
welcome, 20,  271. 

Choice  of  an  occupation  to 
train  for,  213,  218;  medi- 
cal limitations  on,  216. 

Civil-service  positions,  number 
of,  249,  250,  253. 

Classification  of  disabled  from 
a  military  standpoint,  9. 


Coddling  the  disabled  man  has 
no  place  in  the  programme, 
241. 

College  courses,  assistance  to 
complete,  229. 

Commiseration  ' '  unsteels  the 
soul,"  273. 

Community  obligations  to  dis- 
abled men,  28,  241. 

Complete  restoration  of  dis- 
abled the  new  National  pol- 
icy, 29. 

Compulsory  training  a  fail- 
ure, 26. 

Congress,  interest  of,  in  re- 
habilitation, 170. 

Conservative  democracies 
turned  into  conserving  de- 
mocracies, 50. 

Convalescent  patient  should 
start  on  reeducation,  210. 

Convalescent  stage  of  ten  vital 
links  between  medical  treat- 
ment and  vocational  reedu- 
cation, 207. 

Council  of  National  Defense 
acts  to  procure  legislation, 
171. 

Courses  available  through  Fed- 
eral Board  of  Vocational 
Education,  number  of,  225. 

Creditors  of  disabled  men 
should  be  restrained,  302. 

Cripples  small  portion  of 
problem,  58. 

Curative  work  in  hospitals  de- 
cisive factor  in  inducing 
volunteers  for  vocational  re- 
education, 13. 

Curative  workshops  and 
courses  of  instruction  in 
United  States  hospitals,  8 ; 
must  be  under  military  dis- 
cipline, 208;  when  work 
should  begin  in,  209. 


Deafness  and  speech  defects, 
12. 


310 


INDEX 


Debt  of  the  Nation  to  the  dis- 
abled man,  16. 

Deficiencies  in  training  cor- 
rected, 239. 

Depot  des  Invalides,  Belgian, 
established,  66 ;  compensa- 
tion to  inmates  of,  67;  cur- 
riculum of,  66;  instructors 
in,  67. 

Determination  of  course  for 
disabled  man  crux  of  the 
problem,  256. 

Disabilities  not  necessarily 
visible,  283;  rarely  total, 
22;  specific,  incidence  of, 
13. 

Disability  incurred  in  Great 
War  a  badge  of  honor,  271. 

Disability   compensation,  49. 

Disabled,  average  of,  under 
modern  system  of  war,  53. 

Disabled  men,  assigned  for 
training  to  institutions  near- 
est their  homes,  229;  im- 
perative to  have  interest  of, 
in  retraining,  220 ;  instances 
of  retraining  of,  in  line  of 
previous  experience,  218; 
country  still  expects  them 
to  do  their  duty,  214;  long 
for  unaffected  comradeship, 
272 ;  may  be  ' '  slackers ' '  by 
refusing  to  take  training, 
275;  not  necessarily  crip- 
ples, 21 ;  previous  valuable 
trade  knowledge  of,  never 
discarded,  219;  primary  en- 
deavor to  fit  them  where 
chance  of  success  is  best, 
217;  a  potential  reserve  to 
warring  nations,  47 ;  real 
reeducation  of,  begins  after 
discharge  from  Army,  223; 
restoration  of  initiative  of, 
important,  221 ;  retrained 
examples  of  success  of,  255 ; 
retrained,  wantonly  a  fair 
trial,  270;  under  jurisdic- 
tion of  War  and  Navy  De- 


partments until  discharge, 
205. 

Disabled  of  industry  the 
larger  problem,  289;  see 
also  under  Industry. 

Disabling  wounds  often  high 
road  to  real  success,  262. 

Disregard  of  disabilities  and 
concentration  on  abilities 
essential,  282. 

Division  of  Physical  Becon- 
struction,  Surgeon  -  Gen- 
eral's  Office,  4. 

Duty  of  the  home  community, 
266;  of  the  citizen  toward 
the  disabled  man,  275;  of 
the  whole  citizenry  to  its 
disabled  members,  308. 

Early  days  after  injury  criti- 
cal in  psychological  sense, 
25. 

Economic  redemption  of  dis- 
abled a  national  investment, 
51. 

Educational  institutions  used 
in  placing  first  reeducation 
cases,  228. 

Effect  of  work  on  wounded 
first  noted  at  St.  Addresse, 
France,  66. 

Electricians  trained  by  Fed- 
eral Board  for  Vocational 
Education,  165. 

Employers  of  disabled  men 
need  educating,  234;  ex- 
ploiting disabled  should  feel 
public  wrath,  285;  gen- 
erally willing  to  give  re- 
trained a  chance,  235,  300 ; 
had  wrong  conception  of  re- 
trained men,  300;  not  ex- 
pected to  employ  retrained 
at  a  loss,  270;  protected 
against  increased  casualty- 
insurance  rates,  232. 

Encouragement,  not  commiser- 
ation, need  of  disabled,  284. 

Equality  of  opportunity  now 


311 


INDEX 


the  aim  of  the  Government, 
44. 

Expenses  of  retraining  paid 
by  the  Federal  Board  for 
Vocational  Education,  210. 

Families  of  untrained  men  the 
sufferers,  280. 

Farm,  states  can  check  drift 
from,  305. 

Farm  community  for  soldiers, 
suggested  plan  of,  303. 

Farms  for  soldiers,  states 
should  provide,  303. 

Federal  Board  for  Vocational 
Education,  authority  of,  to 
prescribe  course,  194 ;  au- 
thorized to  make  studies  of 
disabled  of  industry,  296; 
authorized  to  receive  gifts 
for  use  of  disabled  of  indus- 
try, 296;  authorized  to 
supervise  rehabilitation  of 
disabled  of  industry,  294; 
began  retraining  operations 
promptly,  292;  composition 
and  functions  of,  163;  co- 
operates with  other  agen- 
cies, 197;  district  or  branch 
offices  of,  211;  district  vo- 
cational officers  of,  211 ; 
empowered  to  accept  gifts 
and  donations,  198;  en- 
trusted with  reeducation 
work  by  Congress,  171 ;  first 
man  placed  for  reeducation 
by,  199;  first  159  cases 
placed  by,  analysis  of,  226; 
given  large  discretion,  196; 
has  disciplinary  powers  over 
students,  194;  holds  "all 
careers  open  to  the  disabled 
man,"  213;  immediately 
available  to  retrain  dis- 
ableft  soldiers,  166;  institu- 
tional facilities  available  to, 
223  ;  institutions  utilized  by, 
227;  local  boards  of,  their 
composition  and  functions, 


211 ;  organizes  rehabilita- 
tion work,  199;  powers  and 
duties  of,  194;  powers  of, 
in  administering  Vocational 
Eehabilitation  Act,  198;  re- 
quired to  file  reports,  198; 
service  of,  to  war  branches 
of  the  Government,  164; 
spent  nothing  for  teaching 
equipment,  230. 

Federal  Government  as  an  em- 
ployer of  labor,  246. 

Federal  Eehabilitation  Act 
put  quietus  on  state  and 
private  effort,  301. 

Financial  provision  for  the 
disabled  soldier,  177. 

Follow-up  work  after  place- 
ment, 239. 

France,  casualties  of,  90; 
compensation  and  mainte- 
nance of  disabled  men  in 
schools  of,  86;  difficulty  in 
inducing  men  to  take  reedu- 
cation in,  82;  disabled  am- 
bitious for  clerkships  in, 
89 ;  disabled  qualifying  for 
trades  formerly  occupied  by 
Germans  in,  88;  discipline 
in  schools  of,  86;  finds  the 
discharged  disabled  most 
difficult  to  interest,  85; 
Government  reeducation 
school  of,  Institute  Na- 
tionale,  opened,  80;  manual 
trades  most  preferred  in, 
88;  reeducation  work  in, 
an  evolution,  77;  reserves 
public  service  positions  for 
disabled  soldiers,  253 ; 
schools  available  for  reedu- 
cation in,  81;  system  of  re- 
education of,  84 ;  system  of, 
inaugurated  by  Edouard 
Herriot,  78. 

Germany,  agricultural  schools 
in,  for  war  disabled,  113 ; 
casualties  of,  116;  creed  of, 


312 


INDEX 


"man  must  go  back  to  his 
trade,"  114;  Federation 
for  the  Care  of  Cripples  in, 
105;  Imperial  Government 
of,  evades  responsibility, 
105;  League  of  Wounded 
Soldiers  makes  demonstra- 
tion in,  117;  orthopaedic  hos- 
pitals in,  109;  percentage 
of  cripples  restored  in,  115; 
placement  system  of,  114; 
scheme  of  restoration  of, 
summary  of,  109,  110; 
schools  available  for  re- 
training in,  106,  110; 
schools  for  the  one-armed 
in,  112 ;  system  of,  state 
and  private  organization  in, 
108 ;  teaches  many  oxy- 
acetlene  welding,  115;  well 
equipped  for  rehabilitation, 
105. 

Gifts  and  donations,  Federal 
Board  empowered  to  accept, 
198,  296. 

Government  as  an  employer  of 
labor,  248;  is  debtor  to  in- 
jured man,  43. 

Government's  power  of  reha- 
bilitation limited,  266. 

Great  Britain,  advisory  trade 
committees  in,  102;  casual- 
ties of,  percentages  and 
classes  of,  58;  casualty  in- 
surance rates  in,  99 ;  co- 
ordinates all  forces  under 
state  control,  97;  employers 
in,  cooperate  in  placement, 
99;  enmeshed  in  commit- 
tees, 102;  local  advisory 
bodies  in,  101 ;  local  com- 
mittees in,  and  their  func- 
tions, 98;  "Lord  Roberts' 
Workshops"  in,  96;  Min- 
istry of  Pensions  of,  cre- 
ated, 97;  plans  of,  for  care 
of  disabled  not  rigid,  104; 
policy  of,  one  of  generosity, 
91 ;  pre-war  point  of  view 


313 


of,  changes,  92;  procedure 
of,  with  the  disabled  man, 
99 ;  programme  of,  outlined, 
92;  programme  of,  revision 
of,  95;  realizes  the  problem 
as  one  for  the  state,  93; 
Eoyal  Patriotic  Fund  Com- 
mittee of,  96 ;  Soldiers  and 
Sailors  Help  Society  of,  96 ; 
system  of  placement  of,  co- 
operative, 99;  system  of  re- 
education of,  91;  system  of, 
one  of  great  flexibility,  103 ; 
system  of,  well  adapted  to 
individual  needs  and  local 
condition,  104 ;  traditional 
policy  of,  overturned,  92 ; 
utilizes  existing  agencies, 
97. 


Herriot,  M.  Edouard,  founder 
of  French  system  of  reedu- 
cation, 79. 

Holder,  Arthur  E.,  testimony 
of,  on  Canadian  system, 
257. 

Home  community,  agencies 
that  can  help  disabled  men 
in,  270;  can  aid  in  over- 
coming handicaps,  267 ; 
duty  of,  to  disabled  re- 
trained man,  267,  269;  must 
insure  a  fair  trial  to  re- 
trained man,  270;  must  see 
disabled  are  not  shuffled 
out  of  jobs,  271;  problem 
of,  a  personal  one,  268 ;  re- 
sponsibility of  each  individ- 
ual of,  271. 

Homes  for  disabled  men, 
states'  opportunity  for 
service  in  providing,  303. 

Hope  the  greatest  restorative, 
204. 

Hospital  treatment  of  dis- 
abled, its  objective,  13. 

Hospitals,  reconstruction,  of 
U.  S.  Army,  7. 


INDEX 


Hungary,    reeducation    school 
of,  at  Budapest,  123. 


Idle  indigence  no  proper 
compensation,  42. 

Idleness  a  demoralizing  fac- 
tor, 26,  207. 

Illiteracy  revealed  by  the 
draft,  229. 

Illiterate  disabled  given  fun- 
damental education,  229. 

India,  British,  educational 
work  of,  144 ;  government 
of,  employs  many  retrained 
men,  145 ;  supplies  retrained 
with  free  tools,  146. 

Individual  citizen  the  object 
of  governmental  solicitude, 
46. 

Individual  development  the 
main  problem,  223. 

Individual  interest  must  be 
sustained,  284. 

Individual  needs,  training 
adapted  to,  221. 

Individual  responsibility  atro- 
phied by  military  service, 
222. 

Individual  self-respect  a  na- 
tional asset,  39. 

Industrial  accidents,  289. 

Industrial  opportunities  for 
disabled  men  surveyed,  234. 

Industrial  plants,  practical  in- 
struction given  in,  224. 

Industry,  disabled  of,  appro- 
priations proposed  for  re- 
habilitation of,  292;  an  as- 
set neglected,  298;  average 
age  of,  290;  Bankhead- 
Smith  bill  for  rehabilitation 
of,  292,  297,  298,  299;  care 
for,  is  third  step  in  Na- 
tional programme,  299 ; 
gift  fund  for,  authorized  by 
Congress,  296;  larger  in  ag- 
gregate than  war  disabled, 
298;  national  loss  in,  290; 


number  and  sources  of,  288, 
289,  290,  291;  organized 
labor  approves  measure  for 
rehabilitation  of,  297;  pri- 
vate experiments  in  rehabil- 
itation for,  297;  rehabilita- 
tion programme  for,  291, 
292;  states  expected  to  co- 
operate in  work  for,  293. 

Institute  dei  Bachetice  at  Mi- 
lan, 147. 

Invalid  or  bedside  occupa- 
tions, 206. 

Italy,  147;  accident  insurance 
rates  in,  153;  casualties  of, 
156;  claims  largest  per- 
centage under  arms,  157; 
compels  private  firms  to  re- 
instate employees,  152;  fa- 
cilities for  caring  for  dis- 
abled of,  156;  Government 
of,  has  stimulated  educa- 
tion, 157;  maintains  fam- 
ilies of  men  undergoing  re- 
education, 151;  National 
Board  for  Assistance  of  War 
Invalids  of,  149;  National 
Federation  of  Committees 
in,  148;  National  War 
Cripples  Association  of, 
151 ;  peasant  population  of, 
153;  placement  system  of, 
152;  pensions  in,  not  af- 
fected by  reeducation,  153; 
provincial  and  local  com- 
mittees in,  148;  redemption 
problem  in,  complicated  by 
illiteracy,  153,  157;  reedu- 
cation schools  under  direc- 
tion of  volunteer  local  com- 
mittees in,  154;  rehabilita- 
tion system  of,  150;  re- 
serves civil-service  positions 
for  war  disabled,  152; 
schools  of,  154,  155;  some 
of,  will  require  farms,  306; 
unprovided  with  retraining 
facilities  at  beginning  of 
war,  147. 


314 


INDEX 


Johannesburg  Belief  Associa- 
tion, 143. 

Justice,  not  alms,  the  United 
States  programme,  175. 

Labor  approves  vocational  re- 
education, 243. 

Land-grant  colleges  utilized 
by  Federal  Board,  223. 

Latent  disabilities  sometimes 
uncovered,  237. 

Legislation  needed  in  states  to 
protect  disabled  men,  301. 

Local  public  service  extensive 
field  for  placement,  253. 

Lyons  center  of  French  move- 
ment for  retraining,  79. 

Machinists  trained  by  Federal 
Board  of  Vocational  Educa- 
tion, 165. 

Medical  or  surgical  care  of 
disabled  confided  to  Army 
and  Navy,  197. 

Medical  cases,  average  of,  57; 
mosj;  difficult,  59. 

Mental  attitude  of  patient 
highly  important,  202;  of 
recently  returned  disabled 
men,  238. 

Military  life  atrophies  initia- 
tive, 208. 

Nation  gains  in  proportion  as 
usefulness  of  citizens  in- 
creases, 265. 

National  programme  in  the 
United  States,  development 
of,  167;  scope  of,  168. 

Nation's  duty  to  war  disabled, 
new  conception  of,  18,  48; 
reflected  by  higher  concep- 
tion of  individual,  45. 

Navy  and  Marine  Corps  dis- 
abled functionally  treated 
by  Surgeon-General's  office, 
3. 

New  Zealand,  courses  offered 
by,  141;  disabled  do  not 


take  to  special  training  in, 
140 ;  Discharged  Soldiers 
Information  Department  of, 
139;  furnishes  free  techni- 
cal training,  142;  instruc- 
tion in  agriculture  in,  141 ; 
local  committees  active  in 
welfare  work  in,  139 ;  means 
employed  for  helping  re- 
turned men  in,  142;  prefer- 
ence given  soldiers  in  gov- 
ernmental employment  in, 
139 ;  "  training  allowances ' ' 
in,  141. 

Occupational  diseases,  289. 

Occupational  therapy  and  re- 
construction aids,  6;  its 
place,  206. 

Occupations,  choice  of,  213, 
218;  list  of,  trained  by  Fed- 
eral Board  for  Army,  165. 

Officers,  status  of,  under  War 
Eisk  Insurance  Act,  183, 
211. 

One-armed  man,  determination 
of  work  for,  60,  222. 

Opportunities  for  retrained  in 
public  service,  246,  249, 
252. 

Organized  labor  and  the  re- 
trained man,  242,  243,  245. 

Oxy-acetylene  welding,  115, 
165,  265. 

Pension,  system,  abuses  of, 
179;  evil  effects  of,  36;  ex- 
penses of,  still  rising,  30; 
had  no  advocates  in  Great 
War,  174;  a  mistake  as  a 
national  policy,  41. 

Pensioners,  number  of,  32; 
number  of,  receiving  in- 
creases under  Act  of  June 
10,  1918;  widows  contribute 
bulk  of,  33,  178. 

Pensions,  abolished  for  "com- 
pensation, "  43 ;  expendi- 
tures for,  32;  high-water 


315 


INDEX 


mark  of,  30;  impaired  ster- 
ling quality  of  pensioners, 
179;  number  of,  Civil  War, 
34;  special  legislation  on, 
34. 

Permanent  disabilities,  spe- 
cial hospitals  for,  12. 

Physical  reconstruction,  defi- 
nition of,  3 ;  division  of,  or- 
ganized by  Surgeon-Gen- 
eral, 3 ;  development  of  sys- 
tem of,  6. 

Physiotherapy,    7,    83. 

Placement,  agency  for,  or- 
ganized by  Government, 
233;  an  essential  part  of 
restoration  programme,  62, 
196,  232 ;  problems  of,  232 ; 
requires  cooperation  of  state 
local  and  private  agencies, 
233 ;  state  authorities  assist 
in,  234. 

Placement  Division  of  Federal 
Board,  242. 

Port  Villez,  France,  Belgian 
rehabilitation  center  at,  68. 

Preference  in  civil  service  to 
veterans  and  disabled,  251, 
252. 

Preference  in  patronage,  han- 
dicapped entitled  to,  283. 

President  Wilson  calls  con- 
ference on  retraining  of  dis- 
abled soldiers,  169. 

Probation  and  adjustment 
period  for  retrained  men, 
235,  236. 

Process  of  restoration,  cure 
by  work,  202. 

Professional  education  may  be 
continued,  228. 

Psychology  of  hope  and  ambi- 
tion, 203. 

Public  mind,  its  effect  upon 
the  individual,  281. 

Public  sentiment,  largely 
moulded  by  women,  280; 
Rehabilitation  Act  a  reflec- 
tion of,  277;  should  frown 


upon  idle  pensioners,    279; 
sustained,  necessary,  277. 

Eadio  operators  trained  by 
Federal  Board,  164. 

Reconstruction  aides,  6. 

Reconstruction,  physical,  de- 
fined, 3 ;  process  of,  in  hos- 
pital, 13. 

Reconstruction  hospitals  of 
U.  8.  Army,  7,  8,  10. 

Reeducated  men,  definitely 
placed  after  first  course  rf 
training,  267 ;  dependent 
upon  no  special  favors,  235 ; 
records  of  success  of,  255 ; 
should  be  given  chance  to 
get  started,  301 ;  succeed  in 
Canada,  256,  261. 

Reeducation,  vocational,  of 
disabled  soldiers,  confided  to 
Federal  Board,  194;  Gov- 
ernment bears  all  expenses 
of,  201;  inception  of  idea 
of,  47 ;  law  requires  it  to  be 
continuous  process,  197 ; 
length  of  time  required  for, 
199;  measure  for,  172;  not 
confined  to  manual  trades, 
200;  number  of  cases  for, 
per  million  under  arms,  53 ; 
problem  of,  53,  62 ;  pro- 
gramme of  Surgeon-Gen- 
eral 's  office  for,  6 ;  special- 
ized, examples  of,  225; 
strictly  a  civilian  function, 
222. 

Rehabilitation  of  disabled  sol- 
diers, conferences  on,  ini- 
tiated by  Federal  Board, 
169;  critical  psychological 
period  in,  204;  importance 
of,  to  the  belligerents,  158; 
inception  of  movement  for, 
in  United  States,  167;  no 
background  of  trade  know- 
ledge complicates  problem 
of,  220 ;  primary  impression 
to  be  made  on  patient  in, 


316 


INDEX 


202;  problem  of,  an  indi- 
vidual one,  242;  real  prob- 
lem of,  is  to  fit  disabled 
into  vocation  where  his  im- 
pairments will  not  handi- 
cap, 22;  restoration  of  in- 
active a  prime  necessity  in, 
208;  several  stages  of,  205; 
tentative  measure  for, 
drawn,  170 ;  underlying 
principle  of,  20 1 ;  Vocational 
Behabilitation  Act  for,  193. 

Self-pity,  an  unmanning  atti- 
tude, 281. 

Sheet-metal  workers  trained 
by  Federal  Board,  164. 

Sinecure  jobs,  temptation 
strong  to  take,  279. 

Smith-Hughes  Vocational  Edu- 
cation Act,  162. 

Smith-Sears  Vocational  Beha- 
bilitation Act,  172,  193. 

Society  insures  best  interests 
by  conserving  human  wast- 
age, 19. 

Soldier  of  democracy  essen- 
tially a  civilian,  14. 

Soldiers'  Homes,  inmates  of, 
34. 

South  Africa,  rehabilitation 
system  of,  142. 

Special  hospitals  for  special 
disabilities,  10. 

Special  occupations  in  army, 
Federal  Board  furnishes 
training  for,  165. 

Special  training  given  direct 
in  industries  and  trades, 
224. 

Square  deal  for  disabled  not 
merely  matter  of  employ- 
ment, 271. 

Square  deal  insisted  upon 
from  employee  and  em- 
ployer, 240. 

States,  can  assist  in  various 
ways,  301 ;  can  loan  funds 
for  acquisition  of  farms  by 


disabled,  305;  efforts  of, 
suspended  on  passage  of 
Federal  Behabilitation  Act, 
301;  great  opportunity  of, 
to  help  disabled  obtain 
homes,  303 ;  have  much  un- 
used land  available  for  dis- 
abled soldiers,  303;  place 
of,  in  rehabilitation  pro- 
gramme, 300;  should  co- 
operate in  placement  of  dis- 
abled, 302;  should  cooper- 
ate more  closely  with  Feder- 
al agencies,  307;  should 
protect  disabled  retrained 
man,  301;  supplement  allot- 
ments and  allowances  of 
war-risk  insurance,  182 ; 
surveys  of,  for  employment 
opportunities,  300. 

Success  despite  disability, 
Canadian  cases  of,  259. 

Surgeon  -General 's  office,  Divi- 
sion of  Physical  Beconstruc- 
tion  of,  6. 

Surgical  cases  simplest  to  deal 
with,  58. 


Temporary  employments  un- 
wise for  disabled  men,  279. 

Tenancy  the  cause  of  drift 
from  the  farms,  305. 

Therapy  of  work,  its  develop- 
ment, 25. 

Total  disability  the  rarest  ac- 
cident in  the  war,  24. 

Trades  and  industries  utilized 
for  training  purposes,  224. 

Training,  adapted  to  indi- 
vidual needs,  221;  allow- 
ances during,  210;  necessar- 
ily an  individual  problem, 
59;  not  as  difficult  as  selec- 
tion of  proper  line  to  train 
for,  237. 

Tuberculosis,  in  IT.  S.  Army, 
13 ;  percentage  of  claims  for 
compensation  for,  282. 


317 


INDEX 


Tuberculous  man  the  hardest 
problem,  282. 

Unearned  wages  a  pernicious 
form  of  charity,  275. 

United  States,  as  a  neutral, 
small  interest  in  rehabilita- 
tion in,  158 ;  enters  the  war, 
161 ;  had  reeducation  agency 
ready  at  hand,  161;  makes 
reeducation  a  voluntary  civil 
operation,  175 ;  programme 
of,  most  comprehensive,  172. 

United  States  forces,  blinded 
in,  12;  casualties  of,  55; 
percentage  of  wounded  re- 
turned to  duty  in,  9. 

Untrained  disabled  cannot 
survive  economically,  279. 

Vienna,  orthopeedie  schools  in, 
119. 

Village  trades  popular  with 
French  disabled,  88. 

Visible  evidences  of  injury  not 
reliable  guide,  282. 

Vocational  advisers,  209,  214, 
215. 

Vocational  education,  firmly 
established,  28;  given  im- 
petus by  war  work,  52. 

Vocational  Education  Act, 
163. 

Vocational  occupations  in 
army,  men  trained  by  Fed- 
eral Board  for,  165. 

Vocational  reeducation ;  see 
under  Reeducation. 

Vocational  rehabilitation;  see 
under  Rehabilitation. 

Vocational  Eehabilitation  Act, 
172,  193. 


Wage  adjustments  with  dis- 
abled, 240. 

War  the  most  hazardous  of 
trades,  54. 

War  risk  insurance,  Act  of 
Oct.  6, 1917, 177;  allotments 
and  allowances,  181 ;  aver- 
age amount  of  policy,  192; 
classification  of  injuries  for, 
188 ;  compensations  for  death 
or  disability  in,  182;  cost 
of,  and  how  paid  for,  190; 
designed  to  obviate  special 
pension  legislation,  185 ; 
flat-rate  scale  of  compensa- 
tion in,  184;  officers  and 
private  on  same  footing  in, 
183;  partial  disability  com- 
pensation in,  187;  percent- 
age of  men  insured,  192; 
provided  for  voluntary 
takers,  190;  total  written, 
192;  scale  of  compensation 
in,  187 ;  special  impairments 
in,  186;  states  supplement 
allotments  and  allowances 
of,  182. 

War  Training  Division  of  the 
Federal  Board,  164. 

Waste  lands  of  states  can  be 
used  as  farms,  303. 

Wastage  of  man  power  under 
pension  system,  37. 

Women,  success  of  programme 
depends  largely  on,  280. 

Work  the  acid  test  of  train- 
ing, 236. 

' '  Work  prescription ' '  the 
same  as  medical  prescrip- 
tion, 208. 

Wounded  refitted  for  military 
service,  proportion  of,  9. 


318 


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